Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-14-Speech-3-285"
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"en.20051214.19.3-285"2
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".
Mr President, first of all I would like to congratulate the rapporteur for her report. I welcome the initiative of the European Parliament and share the rapporteur’s commitment to equal opportunities in the fisheries sector. I also share her opinion that the participation of women’s networks is particularly important in this context.
Women and their representatives are also encouraged to participate in the regional advisory councils, which are the cornerstone of the ‘governance’ pillar of the reformed common fisheries policy. For instance, women’s associations already have a seat in the North Sea RAC, which was the first to be created as a result of the common fisheries policy reform in 2002. Women are also represented in the North Western Waters RAC.
Finally, following the conference on the role of women in fisheries organised in January 2003, I am pleased to inform you that the Commission is planning to organise another conference on equal opportunities in 2006. This conference will take stock of the situation of women in the fisheries sector and reflect on ways further to improve the situation and make further progress. I hope that the views of this Parliament will also find reflection in the proceedings of the conference.
In conclusion, I would like to underline the Commission’s determination to attribute great importance to equal opportunities in our policy. However, in order to make equal opportunities a reality, all policy-making levels need to take responsibility: the Commission, and national as well as regional and local levels. Your own commitment to this objective will assist in keeping and furthering the importance given to equal opportunities at all levels.
In the next programming period, 2007-2013, the Commission will attach great importance to promoting the role of women in the fisheries sector. The proposed European Fisheries Fund reflects the Commission’s commitment to equal opportunities. The future fund is even more specific about the role of women in fisheries than the current Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance. The integration of the gender perspective is promoted during the various stages of implementing the Fund. We will ask the Member States to ensure that operations to enhance the role of women in the fisheries sector are promoted. The report under consideration calls on the Commission to provide active support for existing women’s networks and the creation of new networks.
I am very pleased to inform you that the European Fisheries Fund proposal will support specific actions like networking and the exchange of experience and best practice among organisations promoting equal opportunities between men and women.
For the next programming period, the Commission suggests including the actions relating to networking and the exchange of experiences among organisations promoting equal opportunities in the Member States’ operational programmes. This replaces our past approach of launching calls for proposals for innovative actions directly managed by the Commission. We believe that this option will have more added value than funding small-scale projects, which was the case under the innovative actions formula.
An ex-post evaluation of transnational projects for innovative actions was conducted in 2005. One of the main findings of the evaluation was that the operational programme projects were more highly performing than the innovative action projects. The evaluation also showed that the EU added value of the innovative actions, as well as the exchange of experiences and good practices were fairly limited.
In your report you called on the Commission to promote more vocational training and education specifically geared to the activities of women working in the sector. I am pleased to announce that the European Fisheries Fund’s new priority – the sustainable development of fisheries areas – will make an important contribution to these needs.
Support can be granted for the diversification of activities and the promotion of multiple employment opportunities for fishers outside the sector. Measures, such as the promotion and the improvement of professional skills, worker adaptability and access to employment, particularly in favour of women, are foreseen. The measures aimed at the diversification of economic activities, as well as education and professional training, will be of particular benefit for women in fisheries-dependent areas.
The Commission also shares with you the concern about the difficulty in recruiting young people in the fisheries sector. The sector suffers from a poor image with the younger generation and an effort has to be made to attract young people to join the profession. In this regard under the European Fisheries Fund, we are considering more incentives for young fishers, in addition to the measures already foreseen under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance such as training, including training on health and safety, and the upgrading of professional skills. There will also be limited assistance offered under the EFF for first-time young fishers entering the profession. In addition, there will be increased possibilities for the participation of women in the decision-making process.
The new priority ‘sustainable development of fisheries areas’ will be implemented through a bottom-up approach. The local actors, including women’s associations, will be the motor in designing and implementing the local development strategies. This new approach is a further opportunity for women at local level to get involved in decision-making and to ensure that their specific concerns are taken into account in the local development strategies. Likewise, for the establishment of the National Strategic Plans, a wide partnership with all relevant actors, including women’s representatives, is foreseen. Women’s organisations should therefore give their input for the analysis of the trends in the fisheries sector and the development of a strategy for its sustainable development."@en1
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