Allister rails against common fisheries policy
28 September 2006
During a debate in Strasbourg on a report highlighting the crisis across much of Europe in the fishing industry, DUP MEP alleged that since through its Common Fisheries Policy the EU Commission had a design to reduce fishing effort, it saw opportunity in the severe economic pressures under which the industry was labouring. Hence, the weakness of its offers of help.
The Ulster Euro MP went on to highlight the fact that with only some governments availing of permitted aids and others, like the UK, opposing such, the outcome was a Fisheries Policy of Disparity not Commonality.
In the course of his remarks, Mr Allister said:-
"I share the disappointment of this report at the inadequacy of the Commission response to the crisis in the fishing industry, but I will not pretend to be surprised. Socio-economic pressures are, for them, something to be exploited rather than alleviated, because fundamentally the Commission, in pursuit of the Common Fisheries Policy, desires savage reduction in fishing effort. There can be no doubting the depth of the crisis - with, across the EU, 35% fall in jobs in 10 years, falling prices, falling catches, a 40% dependence on imports and a 100% hike in fuel prices in the last 2 years - but there is much room to doubt the worth of the Commission's response.
Such permitted assistance as there is in the Commission's response is, for many regions, particularly those in the UK, likely to be more theoretical than real, because of national government's resistance to matched funding or any form of state aid. Here we come to a glaring flaw in the CFP. How can you deliver a COMMON Fisheries Policy if some governments avail of assistance options and some do not. Oh yes, we all get the downside of binding CFP regulations and restrictions, but not all get any up side which flows from permitted aids. The result is a Fisheries Policy of Disparity, not commonality! Until the Commission finds a way to address this issue, then even its modest proposals here will accentuate the differences between the haves and the have nots under the CFP."
