PURPOSE: with respect to the outermost regions, to extend until 31 December 2009 the deadline for the entry into the fishing fleet of the fishing vessels receiving national State aid for renewal and amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation (EC) No 1207/2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions.

CONTENT: the Council adopted a Regulation extending until 31 December 2011 the period allowed to the outermost regions of the EU countries to add extra fleet capacity using public funds. The purpose of the Regulation is to extend the 31 December 2008 deadline laid down in Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 for the derogation which the outermost regions enjoy under Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 so as to enable vessels for which aid has been granted but which are still under construction to enter the fleet.

The deadline is being extended owing to the late adoption of the legal instrument allowing the Member States concerned to grant this aid and the limited capacity of the shipyards.

Reporting : the Commission will submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the implementation of the Regulation no later than 30 June 2012.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 05/12/2008.

The European Parliament adopted, by 531 votes to 68 with 12 abstentions, under the consultation procedure, a legislative resolution amending the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions. The report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by Pedro GUERREIRO (GUE/NGL, PT) on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries.

The main amendments adopted – under the consultation procedure – are as follows:

- a new recital states that there are fleets in the outermost regions consisting mainly of ageing vessels (dating back over 30 years in some cases), and it is therefore essential to ensure Community support for those fleets' renewal and modernisation, especially for the small-scale fleets, in order to improve the conditions for conservation of fish and fishermen's working and safety conditions in those regions ;

- one amendment aims to provide a more realistic time horizon with a view to achieving the goals laid down in the Commission proposal. In view of limited shipyard capacity, the extension up to 31 December 2009 as initially proposed does not appear sufficient. Parliament felt that a three-year extension (31 December 2008 - 31 December 2011) was more appropriate;

- by way of derogation from Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999, public aid to modernise the fleet in terms of tonnage and/or power may be granted, within the limits of the specific reference levels provided for in this Regulation

- by way of derogation from Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999, public aid for the renewal of fishing vessels may be granted until 31 December 2009."

- the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the implementation of this Regulation until the expiry of the derogations provided for herein. As regards the measures referred to in Article 2 (fleet renewal and modernisation), the Commission shall propose such adjustments as might be required in the light both of the changing socio-economic needs of the regions concerned and of the status of their fish stocks.

The Committee on Fisheries adopted the report by Pedro GUERREIRO (GUE/NGL, PT) and amended the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions.

The main amendments adopted – under the consultation procedure – are as follows:

- given there are fleets in the outermost regions consisting mainly of ageing vessels (dating back over 30 years in some regions), MEPs consider it essential to ensure Community support for those fleets' renewal and modernisation, especially for the small-scale fleets, in order to improve the conditions for conservation of fish stocks and fishermen's working and safety conditions; the specific measures under this regulation should allow for the special needs of the fisheries sector in those regions;

- MEPs intend to provide a more realistic time horizon with a view to achieving the goals laid down in the Commission proposal. In view of limited shipyard capacity, the extension up to 31 December 2009 as initially proposed does not appear sufficient. A three-year extension (31 December 2008 - 31 December 2011) would seem more appropriate;

- derogations should respect the specific reference limits for fishing capacity defined in the regulation itself;

- by way of derogation, public aid to modernise the fleet in terms of tonnage and/or power may be allocated, within the limits of the specific reference levels provided for in the Regulation;

- by way of derogation, public aid for the renewal of fishing vessels may be granted until 31 December 2009;

- the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the implementation of this Regulation up to the expiry of the derogations provided for therein. As regards the measures referred to in Article 2 (fleet renewal and modernisation), the Commission shall propose such adjustments as might be required in the light both of the changing socioeconomic needs of the regions concerned and of the status of their fish stocks.

PURPOSE: to extend until 31 December 2009 the deadline for the entry into the fleet of the fishing vessels receiving national State aid for renewal and amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.

CONTENT: Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions (“OR's”) lays down derogations from the entry/exit scheme provided by Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the CFP and from the prohibition to use public funds to modernise or renew the fleet set out in Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 on Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector.

The deadline for such derogations had been extended for one year following the political agreement reached in the Council on 19 June 2006 concerning the European Fisheries Fund (EFF). However, the late adoption of the Commission's legal instrument allowing Member States concerned to grant State aid, together with the limited capacity of shipyards, has made it impossible to comply with the deadline for the entry into the fleet of the fishing vessels receiving national State aid for renewal by 31 December 2008, as stipulated in Regulation (EC) No 639/2004.

The purpose of this proposal is to extend this deadline by one year (i.e. until 31 December 2009) with a view to allowing the Member States concerned make full use of the agreement reached in 2006.

PURPOSE: to extend until 31 December 2009 the deadline for the entry into the fleet of the fishing vessels receiving national State aid for renewal and amending Regulation (EC) No 639/2004.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.

CONTENT: Regulation (EC) No 639/2004 on the management of fishing fleets registered in the Community outermost regions (“OR's”) lays down derogations from the entry/exit scheme provided by Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the CFP and from the prohibition to use public funds to modernise or renew the fleet set out in Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 on Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector.

The deadline for such derogations had been extended for one year following the political agreement reached in the Council on 19 June 2006 concerning the European Fisheries Fund (EFF). However, the late adoption of the Commission's legal instrument allowing Member States concerned to grant State aid, together with the limited capacity of shipyards, has made it impossible to comply with the deadline for the entry into the fleet of the fishing vessels receiving national State aid for renewal by 31 December 2008, as stipulated in Regulation (EC) No 639/2004.

The purpose of this proposal is to extend this deadline by one year (i.e. until 31 December 2009) with a view to allowing the Member States concerned make full use of the agreement reached in 2006.