A3-0256/94

Resolution on the future of Community intiatives under the Structural Funds - PESCA initiative (COM(94)0046 - C3-0135/94)

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Commission communication on the future of Community initiatives under the Structural Funds - PESCA initiative (COM(94)0046 - C3-0135/94),

-having regard to Regulation (EEC) No. 2082/93 amending Regulation (EEC) No. 4253/88 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the different Structural Funds between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments, and in particular Article 11 thereof,

-having regard to its resolutions of 10 December 1991 and 15 May 1992 on the common fisheries policy and the adjustments to be made,

-having regard to its opinions of 22 June 1993 and 14 July 1993 on the creation of the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance and the provisions for its implementation,

-having regard to its resolution of 28 October 1993 on the future of Community initiatives under the Structural Funds,

-having regard to the interinstitutional agreement on budgetary discipline of 29 October 1993 and the financial perspective annexed thereto,

-having regard to its resolution of 28 October 1993 on the general budget of the EC for the financial year 1994, Section III - Commission, in particular paragraph 8 thereof,

-having regard to the general budget of the European Union, and in particular Article B2-140 and Chapter B0-40,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Women's Rights (A3-0256/94),

A.whereas the Community fisheries sector is suffering from structural over-capacity which is forcing the European Union to undertake a tough restructuring process which will have major consequences not only in economic but above all in social terms, since it will hit regions whose main, if not only source of income stems directly or indirectly from the activities of the fisheries sector,

B.whereas the current instruments of structural intervention in the fisheries sector are insufficient to mitigate the range of serious and imminent social and economic problems facing that sector, since on the one hand they do not cover the whole Community territory and on the other hand their practical scope does not provide the most suitable framework for the adoption of measures geared to immediate social protection, which might cushion the dramatic repercussions of restructuring processes, or for the direct improvement of the environment or working conditions of people employed in the fisheries sector,

C.whereas the crisis in the Community fisheries sector and the adjustment and restructuring processes which it entails affect not only those regions traditionally covered by objectives 1, 2 and 5b, but also those regions and localities which rely heavily on fisheries and which are located outside the areas covered,

D.whereas, despite the reforms which have been undertaken and the territorial extension resulting from implementation of the Community initiatives, more than 74 000 Community fishermen are still outside assisted areas under the new Community fisheries initiative,

E.whereas co-financing difficulties on the part of some Member States require a flexible and broad interpretation of the additionality principle to the effect that funding from regional or local bodies can be considered admissible for the purposes of that principle,

1.Welcomes the creation of the PESCA Community initiative, which is likely to prove a valuable instrument which will complement the existing elements of structural intervention in the sector;

2.Regrets, however, the low level of appropriations allocated to the PESCA Community initiative, which has by far the smallest budgetary allocation of all the initiatives proposed by the Commission;

3.Considers that, in view of the low level of resources, priority should be given to measures designed to minimize the social impact of the process of adjusting the fleet, whether at local or regional level;

4.Considers that particular attention should be paid to measures aimed at diversifying economic activities and encouraging the relocation of surplus labour from the fisheries sector resulting from restructuring and redundancy, without forgetting measures to support voluntary redundancy and early retirement and subsidies geared to the payment of minimum wages and social contributions during biological and mandatory rest periods;

5.Considers that the eligible measures should also include those likely to contribute directly or indirectly to improving maritime safety, preventing occupational accidents on board and improving medical assistance on board, as well as the reception infrastructure necessary for the conversion of undertakings in the sector to maritime tourism as envisaged in paragraph 10 of the Commission Communication;

6.Calls on the Commission, in the context of the criteria for evaluating proposed aid requests, to take particular account of the unemployment rate in the areas affected;

7.Considers that the additionality principle should be interpreted in a flexible manner so that the joint financing envisaged in paragraph 14 of the Commission Communication might also be undertaken by regional or local bodies as is already the rule in the case of some other Community initiatives such as the LEADER programme;

8.Highlights the Commission's approach regarding the categories of possible final recipients as being extremely positive and considers, in this context, that the Member States and the Commission should cooperate as much as possible to enable regional and local bodies or associations to gain access to such aid;

9.Expresses concern at the prescribed general time-limit for submitting aid requests of six months following the publication of the Communication on the PESCA initiative, which may give rise to undesirable limitations, particularly bearing in mind that the PESCA initiative covers a period of five years in all; considers, therefore, that the Commission should make provision for requests to be submitted at a later date and should not apply excessively rigid criteria in judging as exceptional requests for aid submitted after the deadline;

10.Considers that the 10% ceiling laid down in paragraph 8 of the Commission Communication as the maximum percentage of appropriations which may be allocated to regions not covered by objectives 1, 2 and 5b will not be sufficient to extend the scope of the PESCA initiative to all Community regions which rely heavily on fishing, and therefore proposes that it be raised to 15% in order to render the PESCA initiative more effective and more equitable;

11.Considers that the process of enlarging the European Union to include countries which are highly dependent on fishing makes it desirable not only to adopt a Community initiative on fisheries but also to envisage strengthening that initiative;

12.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.