Elements with tag Council
Today, the European Parliament and this week, the Council of the EU, in a coordinated and concerted effort, swiftly adopted their position on the European Commission proposal establishing a set of ambitious measures under the European Maritime & Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to tackle the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the fisheries sector. The EU Social Partners in the Fisheries Sector - Europêche and ETF - welcome the positive step forward towards the final adoption of this legislative proposal which will provide much-needed support to fishermen. The sector looks forward to a speedy and flexible implementation of the provisions in the Member States.
In the early hours, the Fisheries Council reached an agreement on the catch limits for 2019; just two weeks before the latest and toughest phase of the landing obligation comes into effect. Following a fairly conservationist proposal from the European Commission (EC), which proposed for certain stocks even lower levels of quota than recommended by scientists, Ministers adopted a better-balanced decision that will allow to catch more fish while respecting the sustainability of the stocks in the long term. The positive results yielded, thanks to the sacrifices made by the industry over the past decade, may be however compromised by the quick fixes and patches adopted to try to implement an ill-conceived landing obligation for the complexities of the European waters.
The European Commission (EC) has launched its annual consultation on setting fishing opportunities for 2018. As a novelty, this year it is being accompanied by a Communication which, besides setting the traditional principles underpinning the EC 's proposal for Atlantic and North Sea fish quotas (TACs) in 2018, it gives an overview on the progress made towards the achievement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) objectives. Europêche is very pleased with this new approach since it provides European citizens with objective information in a digestible manner. The sector also welcomes the upward trends in many fish stocks and sustainable exploitation levels across Europe as revealed by the latest scientific data .
In the early hours, after two-day intensive negotiations, the Fisheries Council has reached an agreement over the fishing opportunities for 2017 based on the objective of achieving maximum sustainable yields (MSYs) by 2017 where possible, and by 2020 at the latest, while taking into consideration duly justified socio-economic factors.
In advance of the December Fisheries Council 2016, EAPO and Europêche have sent a joint position paper with general observations and relevant recommendations for about 25 stocks to the Council Members. As such the fishing industry is calling on the Council of Fisheries Ministers not to take the time table towards Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) as a dogma, but to apply a pragmatic and common sense approach to reaching the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) objectives.
Today, the Council of the EU approved a Directive regulating working conditions in the fisheries sector, following a long-standing request from the EU Social Partners (the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), Europêche* and Cogeca).
Demersal fishing in the Baltic Sea has been dealt a huge blow by the Council of Ministers on Monday night when they reached agreement on fishing opportunities for 2017 in the Baltic. The ministers ended up agreeing on a quota reduction of no less than 56% for cod in the Western Baltic Sea, while the quota for cod in the Eastern Baltic Sea was reduced by 25%.
Almost three years after submitting the Social Partners’ Agreement (SPA) on implementing the ILO* Work in Fishing Convention C188, the European Commission (EC) presented today, 29th April 2016, the agreement before the Council of the EU. The European Social Partners for Fisheries, Europêche, Cogeca and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)**, have warmly welcomed this step but regret the considerable delay with implementing the SPA that ensures a high level of protection for fishermen in all aspects of their work. The Social Partners call upon all EU Member States to support the proposal for a Council Directive and urge them to ratify ILO Convention 188.
EU Fisheries Ministers have finally agreed fishing opportunities for 2016 for the ten stocks in the Baltic Sea following talks in Luxembourg yesterday. The quotas were agreed in the framework of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy which aims to have all stocks fished at sustainable levels by 2020.
Europêche, the leading European organization representing the fishing industry, held high-level meetings yesterday with Executive Vice President Maroš Šefčovič and Member States’ officials. These meetings were a timely opportunity to discuss several critical matters for the European fisheries sector, amid the ongoing period of political transition within the EU.