RESOLUTION

on the crisis affecting the Community tuna fleet

The European Parliament,

A. whereas the Community tuna fleet has been in crisis since

1990,

B. whereas the principal cause of the crisis is the imbalance in

the world market which resulted from the decision of the

major American canning firms not to buy tuna which had been

caught along with dolphins, a move which has flooded the

Community market with such tuna at very low prices,

C. whereas in 1970 the Council suspended the Common Customs

Tariff duties on imports of tuna from third countries

(Council Regulation 3796/81) because the Community was at

that time undersupplied with tuna,

D. whereas prices of Community products have fallen by

approximately 50% in real terms since 1990,

E. whereas the reference price for yellowfin tuna over 10 kgs

was fixed at ECU 731 per tonne in 1983 and has not been

revised since, a fact which has blocked the mechanisms for

protecting the market against imports (Regulation 3796/81),

F. whereas the compensation arrangement laid down in Regulation

3796/81 was amended by Regulation 3468/88 in a very

restrictive manner, against the wishes of Parliament set out

in its opinion of 17 December 1987; whereas the mechanism in

question is utterly inadequate to cope with the task of

guaranteeing producers a reasonable income,

G. whereas Article 24 of Regulation 3796/81 concerning

protective measures has never been implemented,

H. having regard to its resolution of 22 November 1991, on the

use of purse-seine nets,

1. Calls for the immediate adoption of the proposal drawn up by

the Commission with a view to updating the reference price

for yellowfin tuna over 10 kgs to ECU 905 per tonne in

accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of Regulation

3796/81;

2. Calls for the immediate imposition for one year of a

compensatory duty on EEC imports of yellowfin tuna over 10

kgs from third countries, pursuant to Article 24 of

Regulation 3796/81;

3. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the

Council and Commission.