Mr President, this report is about the extension of a pilot observer scheme for the North Atlantic Fishing Organization. I would stress first that this particular form of observation is not the only method of conservation within the NAFO scheme, so we are not talking about this being the only way of ensuring that fish stocks are looked after in the North West Atlantic. Basically the Commission is asking for an extension from June 1994 to the end of this year of an agreement that ended in June of this year,

Although when I started to look at this report it was not perhaps of great importance, there are a number of things that have made it more important as time goes on. I should make some points here. First, there was no consultation or prior discussion with Parliament on the agreements' extension. I received no real costings of the additional effect of the six months' extension of this scheme on the costs of the European Union. Also I received very little information from the Commission about the effectiveness of the original 18 months of this pilot observer scheme.

As rapporteur I have suggested, and the Committee on Fisheries has agreed, that we should approve the extension of this scheme on the basis that there was no additional budget cost, although there was little transparency about actual additional costs and, moreover, since this extension ends in December, it is almost over as we come to vote on it.

However, having said that, a number of important principles arise here, and that have already been stated to some degree by colleagues in the House. Firstly, since this report has come forward and since I originally wrote it, the Commission has already extended this pilot observer scheme for yet another full year, for the whole of 1995, again without any prior consultation of Parliament. It is for that reason that I and the Committee on Fisheries have tabled two amendments for Parliament's consideration. The first demands that in future the Commission should give a detailed assessment of the scheme in terms of its effectiveness and its cost and do so before any further extension is approved by Parliament. I want to make sure that this House makes it clear that this is a warning. Although we may accept this six months' extension, we treat the matter seriously and in the event of any further extension we would need to be involved far more fully. I ask the Commission to note that point, that before any further

extension is put before this House we need to have far more information and far more of an indication of the value of this agreement before we can even consider its acceptance.