2024/0159M(NLE) EC/Guinea-Bissau Fisheries Partnership Agreement. Implementing Protocol (2024-2029)
Progress: Preparatory phase in Parliament
Legal Basis:
RoP 58| Amendments | Dossier |
| 60 |
2024/0159M(NLE)
2024/12/13
DEVE
60 amendments...
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F a (new) Fa. whereas ship owners will pay licence and capture fees to the Guinea- Bissau administration to be authorised to fish; whereas the combination of the EU’s contribution and fees paid by EU operators puts the total estimated financial envelope beyond €100 million over the 5 year period;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Recital G a (new) Ga. whereas Guinea-Bissau's official language is Portuguese; whereas Guinea- Bissau obtained its independence from Portugal on September 24th, 1974, after 528 years as a colony; whereas it is today an integral part of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries), a multilateral political and diplomatic entity that includes countries such as Portugal (Member state of the European Union), Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and East Timor; whereas these historical links highlight the need to foster and strengthen diplomatic and economic relations with Guinea-Bissau, based on mutually beneficial cooperation and development;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H H. whereas the first fisheries agreement between the European Economic Community and Guinea-Bissau dates back to 1980; whereas the previous Protocol to the agreement expired on 14 June 2024; whereas the results achieved under the development cooperation component of the agreements (i.e. sectoral support) are not satisfactory overall; whereas improvements have nonetheless been recorded as regards capacity for fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance and sanitary inspection, as well as Guinea-Bissau’s involvement in regional fisheries bodies; whereas sectoral cooperation with local coastal communities needs to be stepped up in order to better promote the development of the local fisheries sector and related industries and activities so as to ensure that a greater proportion of the added value created through exploitation of the country’s natural resources remains in Guinea-
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas development of the fisheries sector in Guinea-Bissau calls for the establishment of basic infrastructure, such as ports, landing sites, storage facilities and processing plants, which are still lacking or are being built by other third countries competing with the EU, with the aim of attracting landings of fish caught in Guinea-Bissau waters, calls on the Commission to support EU investments in coastal infrastructure in this context under the Global Gateway initiative;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas development of the fisheries sector in Guinea-Bissau calls for the establishment of basic and functioning infrastructures, such as ports, landing sites, storage facilities and processing plants, which are still lacking or are being built by other third countries competing with the EU, with the aim of attracting landings of fish caught in Guinea-Bissau waters;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Recital K a (new) Ka. whereas for the first time, the SFPA makes a reference in its preamble to the Voluntary Guidelines for securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries, with the aim to protect small-scale fisheries, taking into account their contribution to food security and poverty reduction;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Recital L L. whereas there is a need to ensure that a greater proportion of the added value generated through exploitation of fishery resources in the Guinea-Bissau fishing zone remains in the country; whereas the EU should encourage local authorities to apply this recommendation to EU vessels but also to foreign fleets operating in Guinea-Bissau's fishing zone;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Recital M M. whereas direct job creation in the fisheries sector in Guinea-Bissau is uncommon and limited, even in the case of local crew members on board vessels and women working and earning their living in the fisheries sector; whereas important part of the sectoral support should be allocated to support artisanal fishery, women processors and local trade;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Recital N N. whereas, by comparison with the previous Protocol, the number of seafarers to be signed on in the EU fleet has increased significantly; whereas EU vessel owners must endeavour to sign on additional Guinea-Bissau seafarers; whereas the Guinea-Bissau authorities must draw up and keep up to date an indicative list of qualified seafarers who could be signed on to EU vessels, and sectoral support may be provided for training local seafarers in accordance with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standards also promoting local surveillance and controls in order to protect artisanal fisheries sector;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Recital O a (new) Oa. whereas SFPA encourages the establishment of joint fishing ventures between European and local companies; but whereas such joint ventures compete with the small-scale fisheries sector;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Recital O b (new) Ob. whereas using flags of convenience (the practice of registering vessels in countries with weak rules that bears no association with the nationality of the vessel’s owner or operator) and flag hopping (the practice of repeated and rapid reflagging to avoid rules and restrictions to limit activities) increase the risks of IUU fishing and avoid accountability;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Recital O c (new) Oc. whereas transparency (the open and accessible sharing of information about vessels, fishing activities and how fisheries are managed) enables accountability and equitable access to marine resources; in sharp contrast, whereas a lack of transparency around foreign boats that join local fleets makes it impossible to track how much fish they are extracting;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Recital O d (new) Od. whereas access to beneficial ownership information is crucial for law enforcement to uncover illegal fishing, reveal conceal networks, and identify the individuals and companies benefiting from these activities by tracing the flow of profits;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Recital S S. whereas Parliament must be kept closely informed at all stages of the procedures concerning the Protocol, its changes or its renewal;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Notes the importance of the EU- Guinea-Bissau SFPA, both for Guinea- Bissau and for EU fleets operating in the Guinea-Bissau fishing zone; emphasises that there could be more effective fisheries cooperation between the EU and Guinea- Bissau and reiterates its call on the Commission to take every step required to make the new Protocol on implementing the agreement more ambitious than its predecessors so as to ensure that this SFPA
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Notes the importance of the EU- Guinea-Bissau SFPA, both for Guinea- Bissau and for EU fleets operating in the Guinea-Bissau fishing zone; emphasises that there could be more effective fisheries cooperation between the EU and Guinea- Bissau and reiterates its call on the Commission to take every step required to make the new Protocol on implementing the agreement more ambitious and clearer than its predecessors so as to ensure that this SFPA leads to a satisfactory level of development of the local fisheries sector in overall terms and is consistent with the objectives referred to in UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Notes the importance of the EU- Guinea-Bissau SFPA, both for Guinea- Bissau and for EU fleets operating in the Guinea-Bissau fishing zone; emphasises that there could be more effective fisheries cooperation between the EU and Guinea- Bissau and reiterates its call on the Commission to take every step required to make the new Protocol on implementing the agreement more ambitious than its predecessors so as to ensure that this SFPA leads to a satisfactory level of development of the local fisheries sector in overall terms and is consistent with the
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Encourages the Commission to develop a more ambitious partnership agreement which could be seen as an EU- Africa free trade zone agreement including the fishery sector and facilitating the export of products from fishing and sustainably processed on the African continent;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Considers that the objectives of the EU-Guinea-Bissau SFPA have been realised to varying degrees: while the agreement has offered and still provides considerable fishing opportunities for EU vessels
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Considers that the objectives of the EU-Guinea-Bissau SFPA have been realised to varying degrees: while the agreement has offered and still provides considerable fishing opportunities for EU vessels in the Guinea-Bissau fishing zone, in view of the considerable use made of those opportunities by European vessel owners
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Recalls that Guinea-Bissau is part of the Least Developed Countries; stresses that the country is subject to political instability, suffers from a high level of corruption, and is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Supports the need to include all actors in Guinea-Bissau
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that, in Article 3, the Protocol contains a non-discrimination clause whereby Guinea-Bissau undertakes not to grant more favourable technical conditions to other foreign fleets operating in Guinea-Bissau's fishing zone that have the same characteristics and target the same species; calls on the Commission to closely follow and constantly monitor EU fisheries agreements with third countries in Guinea-Bissau's fishing zone; supports the Commission’s precautionary approach in setting TACs at 0 GRT for small-pelagic trawlers, but questions the ability of stakeholders to enforce an equivalent obligation for third-
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Stresses that Guinea-Bissau’s GDP is heavily reliant on its marine resources; underlines that although the fishing industry stands for 15% of the total revenues, it cannot export seafood to the EU as it has not met the health and sanitary requirements to export, while it is estimated that only 3% of the catches made by foreign vessels has landed in Guinea-Bissau;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Recalls that scientists have warned about the overexploitation of small pelagic stocks in the region albeit these stocks are essential to the food security of local population; recalls that access to small pelagics under the SFPA is restricted for EU fleets for sustainability reasons; but stresses that foreign boats operating under local flags have become a significant driver of overfishing and subsequent harm to the livelihoods and food security of artisanal fishing communities;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 c (new) 4c. Recalls that small-scale fisheries make a major contribution to food security, with fish being the main source of protein available at an affordable price; henceforth, underlines the importance to reserve the access to pelagics for small-scale fisheries that fish for human consumption; recalls EU’s responsibility to encourage these measures through its agreements;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 d (new) 4d. Welcomes the fact that the for the first time in an SFPA, the preamble to the Guinea-Bissau-EU protocol refers to the Voluntary Guidelines for securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries; underlines that their inclusion in the protocol text shows the determination of both parties to make this sector a priority; however, deplores the fact that artisanal fishing communities were not consulted at any stage in the process of drawing up the new protocol; stresses that EU’s commitment to support the local fisheries sector in Guinea-Bissau entails to involve their participation in the identification of priorities for the use of sectoral support funds;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 e (new) 4e. Notes that the main problems facing the small-scale fisheries sector are the lack of infrastructure for landing, preserving, and processing fish products; insists that sectoral aid effectively contributes to sustainable development in partner countries, notably by better targeting it to local needs ensuring greater transparency on allocation of support; stresses that training of artisanal fishers, notably for women, is a necessary condition to the development of the local fisheries sector; urges the EU to also use sectoral support funds to this effect;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Welcomes the contribution of EU vessels to food security in Guinea-Bissau through direct landings, as specified in Chapter V of the Annex to the Protocol, for the benefit of local communities and to promote internal fish trade and consumption, while deploring the fact that the tonnage involved is low; further underlines the particular importance of sustainable fisheries partnership agreements in job creation in EU Member States; notes that these agreements are particular opportunities for partner countries to combat illegal fishing and facilitate local blue economy;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Welcomes the contribution of EU vessels to food security in Guinea-Bissau through a contribution in nature in the form of direct landings, as specified in Chapter V of the Annex to the Protocol, for the benefit of local communities and to promote internal fish trade and consumption, while deploring the fact that the tonnage involved is low with 94 tonnes reported in 2022;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Encourages the Commission to promote the use of sectoral support in order to accentuate surveillance, controls and develop scientific research on stocks such as through a laboratory in order to train local workers to EU standards on hygiene, fish processing and packaging; training is a long-term investment for the development of the local blue economy, fish trade, protecting of local businesses and environment;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Supports the need for significant progress in the development of the Guinea- Bissau fisheries sector, including as regards related industries and activities, and calls on the Commission to take all necessary measures, including a possible revision and strengthening of the sectoral support component of the agreement
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Supports the need for significant progress in the development of the Guinea- Bissau fisheries sector, including as regards related industries and activities, and calls on the Commission to take all necessary measures, including a possible revision and strengthening of the sectoral support component of the agreement
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 – introductory part 8. Takes the view that the EU-Guinea- Bissau SFPA will not achieve its objectives unless it contributes to establishing a long- term sustainable management system for the exploitation of its fisheries resources plus responsible socio-economic arrangements; regards it as extremely important that the sectoral support provisions set out in the Protocol be complied with, with the utmost transparency, in order to help fully implement the national strategy for sustainable fisheries; points out in this regard that the EU should mobilise its technical
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 – point c (c) build key infrastructure, using the opportunities provided by the Global Gateway initiative, tailored to fisheries and related activities, such as ports (both industrial and artisanal), landing sites, fish storage and processing facilities, markets, distribution and marketing structures, and quality analysis laboratories, with the aim of attracting landings of fish caught in the waters of Guinea-Bissau; the construction, repair, expansion and improvement of these infrastructures must be carried out primarily by companies from European Union Member States, which must obtain financing or guarantees from European Union funds and programs under advantageous conditions, recognising these projects as strategic EU Cooperation actions;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 – point d (d) strengthen the capacities of local artisanal operators in the fisheries sector by supporting and training fishers’ organisations and cooperatives of women processors and wholesale fish merchants in order to help them fight against malnutrition;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 – point e (e) train fishing professionals upstream for seafarers, but also downstream in processing workshops, in particular hygiene and health training, as well as facilitating knowledge exchange, building on the experience of European seafarers;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 – point f (f) support small-scale fishing as regards access to resources in line with the FAO voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries, modernising seagoing capacities, on-board equipment and cold chain equipment for preservation of catches on land, these being basic building blocks for the cohesion of coastal communities and their food autonomy as well as providing trainings on geolocalisation or security and safety at sea for pirogue captains;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 – point i (i) facilitate landings of species consumed locally, in the interests of local communities’ food security,
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 – point i a (new) (ia) support school feeding programmes in cooperation with local and EU fisheries sector;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls for publication of details of the activities financed by sectoral support funds, thus allowing more rigorous monitoring and greater consistency with other funds for development of the local sector, as publication would make the impact of those activities totally clear to the European taxpayer and local populations; stresses the importance of implementing robust measures to ensure transparency in the use of European contributions and payments;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Urges the Commission and Member States, in their cooperation and official development assistance policies, to take into account the fact that the European Development Fund (EDF) and sectoral support provided for in the EU-Guinea- Bissau SFPA should complement each other and be fully coordinated, with a view to strengthening the local fisheries sector and ensuring food security for coastal communities;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Expresses its concern at the growing number of fish meal and fish oil plants on the west African coast, which are also supplied with fish from Guinea-Bissau waters; underlines the fact that forage fishing runs counter to the principle of sustainability and providing valuable protein resources for the local community; welcomes expansion of port and landing facilities in Guinea-Bissau, but is concerned that this will be followed by the construction of new fish meal plants; notes that Peru, Chile and other Latin American countries account for about 40% of the global export of fish meal, pellet and other products while West African countries account for less than 10%;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. Calls on the EU to steps up its efforts for supporting the regional joint management of small pelagics and ending overfishing, including by creating a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation dedicated to their shared management;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 b (new) 11b. Calls on the EU to develop an holistic strategy to reduce its dependence on fish meal and fish oil imports or the aquaculture sector, which contribute to overfishing and food insecurity;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Supports the need to enhance the contribution of the SFPA to local direct and indirect job creation, both on vessels operating under the SFPA or in fishing- related activities, both upstream and downstream; considers that the Member States can play a key role and be an active participant in capacity-building and training efforts in order to achieve the objectives set; calls on the Commission to support EU firms’ investments and initiatives in technology and knowledge exchange, local capacity building and training in local fisheries sector;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Considers that there is a need to improve the quantity and quality of data on all catches (target species and by-catches), on the conservation status of fishery resources in the Guinea-Bissau fishing zone and, in general, on the impact of the SFPA on ecosystems, and that an effort should be made to develop Guinea- Bissau’s capacity to acquire such data; calls on the Commission to help ensure that the bodies monitoring implementation of the SFPA, namely the Joint Committee and Joint Scientific Committee, can operate smoothly, with the involvement of artisanal fishers’ associations, associations of women working in the fisheries sector, trade unions
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Emphasises the importance of the surplus requirement for EU vessels fishing in third-country waters; recalls that robust and reliable data as well as transparent information is needed to calculate the available surplus; takes the views that targeting fish populations subject to overexploitation is contrary to that objective;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 a (new) 21a. Calls on the EU to address the lack of transparency in the fishing sector in Guinea-Bissau which results i.e. from flags of convenience, flag hopping, complex corporate structures and lack of public information on beneficial owners;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 b (new) 21b. Recalls that illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, which is facilitated by the practice of flying a flag of convenience, damages food security and the livelihoods of people in coastal countries as well as ocean’s ecosystems; notes with concern that Guinea-Bissau is developing into a fast-emerging flag of convenience; is equally concerned that EU’s fight against IUU fishing is being held back by a lack of transparency of EU-owned fishing vessels in countries with a high risk of IUU fishing, while the beneficial owners often remain hidden, allowing profits from IUU fishing to flow back to the EU;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 c (new) 21c. Notes that selling boats to joint ventures majority-owned by local partners is one of the key ways in which foreign companies can access West African countries’ flags;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 d (new) 21d. Takes note of the article of the Financial Times from 15 August 2024 that found 39 industrial fishing vessels that were flagged to Gambia, Mauritania, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau despite having ownership or management links to European companies; underlines that over half of them were licensed to bring seafood into the EU; highlights that the shift in registration raises sustainability concerns given that both EU flagged and EU owned vessels, which are fishing in the same waters, do not respond to the same standards; whereas the EU flagged vessels cannot fish for small pelagic fish in the waters of Guinea-Bissau because of overfishing, these EU-owned vessels are likely fishing these species; stresses that the failings of West African coastal states in terms of law enforcement and their lack of capacity for monitoring their waters cannot guarantee sustainable fishing by these reflagged vessels; against this background, urges the EU to limit flags of convenience and re-flagging as a means to combat IUU fishing and comply with high sustainability standards; urges equally the EU Member States to require their nationals to notify any ownership of vessels or companies (through joint ventures) in Guinea-Bissau and to continue promoting transparency of corporate structure;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Calls on the Commission to coordinate the social partners on the EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee on Fisheries with a view to concluding a collective agreement, including on pay, in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, for subsequent SFPAs; encourages the Commission to promote ratification of ILO Convention 188 by
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 26. Welcomes the new SFPA social provision introduced by the European Commission; recalls the need for fishers from OACP countries engaged on board EU vessels to receive an equal treatment; Calls on the Commission, when assessing and renegotiating SFPAs, to determine whether all provisions of Chapter VIII of the Annex have been implemented, in particular the provisions on pay actually received by local fishers; calls on the Commission to propose corrective measures where not all of those provisions have been complied with;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 30. Calls on the Commission and on the Guinea-Bissau authorities to provide more detailed information on the development of forage fishing activities in the region, in particular activities by third- country vessels or neighbourhood countries;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 31 31. Calls on the Commission to better incorporate Parliament’s recommendations into the EU-Guinea-Bissau SFPA and to take them into account during the procedures for renewal of the Protocol for the sake of good governance and for a balanced agreement based on trust;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 8 a (new) – having regard to the FAO voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines),
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest, most unstable and Least Developed Countries in the region; whereas the contribution of Guinea- Bissau’s fisheries to the country’s wealth is very low (3 % of GDP in 20183
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D a (new) Da. whereas artisanal catches are not enough to supply the local markets; whereas overexploitation of small pelagic remains an urgent problem in terms of food security for local population; whereas the increased production of fishmeal, which is processed mostly from small pelagic species, either on land in fishmeal plants or directly on factory ships, is one of the main factors contributing to the overexploitation of these stocks in the region; whereas there is a lack of transparency about who supplies these fishmeal plants and who are their beneficial owners;
source: 766.849
|