Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-04-05-Speech-2-564-000"
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"en.20110405.23.2-564-000"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank all the rapporteurs for their work. Now let me refer to each report in turn, trying to focus on the substance in order to gain time.
I would like to recall that this proposal rationalises the regulation on the so-called second financial instrument. This regulation covers spending in international relations, governance, data collection and scientific advice, and also control and enforcement. The revision intends to ensure coherence between the regulation and other elements of the legislative framework. It makes limited adaptations and clarifications of the provisions. I therefore urge the European Parliament to approve the proposal
I will turn now to the third report, on transitional technical measures, for which I warmly thank the rapporteur, Mrs Grelier. The purpose of this proposal is to extend existing transitional technical measures until the end of 2012. This is based on the assumption that the reformed common fisheries policy will enter into force on 1 January of next year. I hope we will be successful in that aim. My intention in proposing this extension is to avoid opening complex discussions on technical measures in the way of our reform. The Commission supports the amendment agreed by the Fisheries Committee on a mesh size range for boarfish, as it is based on scientific advice. I note the concerns of some Members and also by certain Member States who have sought additional amendments. We could not accept these as these had not yet been tested by scientists, or because scientists have actually not received full information from Member States in order to make an assessment.
Finally, I would like to say a few words on the report concerning the imports of fishery products from Greenland, and I would like here to thank the Chair of the Fisheries Committee, Mrs Fraga, for her work. I would like to underline that the measures proposed by the Commission address a long-standing request from Greenland. These measures seek to simplify the relevant sanitary measures and certification procedures and make Greenland part of the Single Market for fishery products and derived products.
This is entirely in line with our commitment in the agreement of 2006 to contribute to the development of Greenland and to cooperate in the area of food safety. The Commission is very pleased to note that all parties concerned – the Member States in Council with unanimity, Greenland, the European Parliament and also the national parliaments of the Member States – are prepared to deliver on this commitment and support the proposal.
Let me be clear: for us, the Commission, the relationship with Greenland is of extreme importance and I think that everybody understands why. It is a political priority, and I therefore hope that the discussions on the legal basis of this proposal will not risk putting in place these important measures.
I understood very well Mrs Fraga’s concerns about the legal basis of the proposal and the competence of the European Parliament. I can say that the Commission will not stand in the way of finding a pragmatic solution. Although we remain convinced that the legal basis of our proposal is correct, we would accept – and I would like to clarify this – the Council adopting the position of Parliament. That will be okay with us. It is now up to the Council to consider the options and move the case forward in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty. I hope we can resolve this issue very soon in order to avoid an impact on our relations with Greenland. This is our first priority, so I am here to say that I would like to facilitate the work which Mrs Fraga has done in order to find a solution.
Finally, I would like to thank the Committee on Fisheries and all the rapporteurs for their work. I am sorry I have spoken too much, but I had four reports to comment on.
Regarding the agreement between the European Union and the Union of Comoros, I would like to thank Mr Capoulas Santos for his work as rapporteur and am pleased to see the very strong support of the Fisheries Committee as a whole on the substance of this proposal.
As the House will be aware, the EU’s commitment is to continue promoting responsible and sustainable fisheries in the waters of our partners, including the Indian Ocean region. It is very important to maintain bilateral relationships with this region’s countries and Comoros, in this case, in connection with the participation of the European Union in regional fisheries organisations such as the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.
We have to be present there and that is why this agreement is important. At present, the European Union has four active fisheries partnership agreements in the Indian Ocean – namely with Seychelles, Madagascar, Mozambique and this one with the Union of Comoros. I would like to underline that it is very important for the Commission and the European Union to reach an agreement with Comoros, as the agreement plays an important role in terms of the presence of our fleet in the region.
It is also necessary to reinforce the dialogue on the sectoral policy in order to encourage the implementation of a responsible fisheries policy in this region.
Let me say a few words referring to the requests made by the rapporteur to the Commission in the conclusion to his report. I would like to report that the Commission is committed to keeping the European Parliament fully informed at all stages of the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements. We really mean it, and we want to make available all relevant information, but we do have to act in line with the commitments made in the Framework Agreement.
In practice, the Commission services have been honouring this commitment for more than one year now. The Commission is sending the European Parliament the same information as to the Council and at the same time. In particular, I am committed to making available ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of our agreements as soon as possible. To give you just one example: in view of tomorrow’s vote on the resolution of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Mauritania, the Commission services have made arrangements that the evaluation report of this agreement will be available ahead of the foreseen schedule, so the members of this Parliament can vote after being informed about this report.
As regards participation of members of this Parliament as observers in international meetings, I must emphasise that the Framework Agreement applies to multilateral international conferences and meetings. At the same time, we intend to continue established successful practices of participation in bilateral negotiations. Nevertheless, any decision to include MEPs as observers in EU delegations is taken by the College of Commissioners on a case-by-case basis following the evaluation of the legal, diplomatic and technical possibilities pursuant to the Framework Agreement. I would, however, like to underline here that my personal attitude and that of the services is very positive and I would like to facilitate your participation.
Turning now to the second report on Community financial measures for the implementation of the common fisheries policy, I would also like to thank the Fisheries Committee and the rapporteur, Mr Ferreira, for their work on this proposal. Thanks to their efforts, we have a text before us which is acceptable to the Council also. I am happy to say that this text is also acceptable to the Commission, so there has been excellent cooperation between the three institutions on this file. After a successful informal trialogue held on 2 March, a consensus was achieved on the outstanding points, so the Commission hopes that a first reading agreement can be achieved on this proposal. I hope we will be successful on that."@en1
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