Mr President, the Committee on Fisheries, is only just starting its work in its own right and accounts for only a very small amount of money in the budget. The common fisheries policy accounts for a mere 1% of the total budget whereas the common agricultural policy is some 40 times larger. But fishing is a very important sector because of the small coastal communities that rely on it. It is also under great financial pressure at the moment because of high unemployment in those communities and that is true from the Eastern Mediterranean in Greece right through to my own constituency in Cornwall and in Plymouth.

The Committee on Fisheries has understood the strict financial constraints on the budget and we have asked for modest changes concentrating on those areas that will assist those communities most and also making sure that fishing stocks last well into the future where there is a great deal of pressure at the present moment. Hence our amendments. We are very pleased that the Committee on Budgets has accepted our proposal for some ECU 3m in commitment appropriations for small-scale coastal fishing. That is important; it was reduced by the Budgets Committee but we welcome the fact that it has been retained.

We are also pleased that - despite the recommendation of the rapporteur on this occasion - in one success area of the common fisheries policy, that of independent inspectors, an area that is very important for policing the common fisheries policy, we have actually managed a modest increase of ECU 0.3m, whereas that budget was originally going to be reduced by the Council and the Commission.

However, Mr President, I would say that we are also very disappointed that despite our recommendations that the PESCA initiative should be increased because of the particular pressure on fishing communities, the PESCA programme will remain the same for the year. Also our suggestion concerning research on the effect of the common fisheries policy on stocks, something that makes this policy credible to fishermen itself, was sadly rejected.

The common fisheries policy is important, these are important communities and we ask you for your support as a House for the amendments we have tabled.