FINANCIAL TIMES, 4/7/95, pag. 2, photo Bonino

Mrs Emma Bonino, European Commissioner for fisheries, has accused Canada of softening its commitment to settling the dispute over the allocation of a quota for Greenland halibut in the North Atlantic. EU and Canadian officials failed to make headway on a 1996 quota during talks in Brussels last week. The issue was at the centre of a dispute between the two sides which was settled in April. Mrs Bonino (pictured left) has also accused the Canadians of failing to meet their commitments under the April agreement. A Commission official said the first round of talks on the quota, held at the request of the Canadians, had failed because "they talked about everything else accept the new allocation". Canada accused the EU of not ordering two Spanish vessels back to port for alleged infringements. The Commission said legal action had been taken against one vessel while the second complaint was received less than 72 hours before the meeting. Caroline Southey, Brussels.