The UK is lagging behind other EU member states in cutting the size of its fishing fleet and will have to catch up, Ms Emma bonino, the Europea fisheries commissioner, said yesterday.

In comments likely to fan Eurosceptic anger over the Common Fisheries Policy, Ms Bonino defended the status quo. "Personally I think the fisheries policy is a Community policy and we shouldn't tamper with it", she said.

The government's white paper says that the policy has been unevenly enforced, is inequitable and has failed to curb overfishing. Britain will seek treaty changes to the policy if needed, it says.

Ms Bonino backed the European Court's ruling last week that Britain must pay damages of up to £30m (£45.9m) to Spanish fishermen banned from UK waaters in 1989 to stop them gaining access to British quotas.

She said : "The ruling is positive. It says that any citizen who is the victim of discrimination with regard to community law has a right to compensation".

The commissioner, who is due to meet fishermen in Scotland and south-west England this weekend, said Britain was well behind the target of a 19 per cnt fleet reduction which it was meant to achieve by the end of this year as part of EU-wide cuts in fishing capacity.

As a result, it was losing out on its share of Ecu 34bn from the European Commission for restructuring and modernisins member states' fleets.

Speaking at a press conference transmitted by satellite across the EU, she said British failure to reach the target by the end of the year could lead the Commission to start infringement procedures. This would involv the Commission demanding an explanation from the government and taking the UK to the European Court if it was not satisfied.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food confirmed that fleet capacity had been cut by only 7 per cent, compared with the 19 per cent cut required between 1992 and the end of this year.

About 20.000 tonnes worth of fishing vessel capacity remains to be cut by the end of this year of the original target of 35.000 tonnes.

The ministry blamed the problem on fishermen's success in blocking the government's attempt two years ago to introduce limits on the ampount of time they could spend at sea. However, Britain, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands also failed to reduce capacity in earlier rounds, adding to the amount they are now having to cut.

Ms Bonino said a fifth round of cuts would be introduced at the end of this year running to the end of 1999. She admitted the new targets would cause "social and economic hardship" but said cuts were needed because fish stocks were in "a very poor state".