Fishery products: additional costs due to remoteness of Azores, Madeira, Canary islands, French Guiana

This document consists of the report from the Commission on implementation of the scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery products from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the French departments of Guiana and Reunion as a result of those Regions' remoteness Article 6 of Council Regulation 1587/98/EC introducing a scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery products from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the French departments of Guiana and RΘunion as a result of those regions' remoteness, as amended by Regulation 579/2002/EC, requires the Commission to submit a report to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of the measures provided for therein, together, where appropriate, with suitable proposals. In accordance with that provision, the present report describes the results of operating the support scheme for marketing of certain species produced in the regions concerned. It also discusses the constraints currently faced by the fishery sector as regards the species which are marketed in significant quantities and outlines the prospects for Community action in this field. By Decisions 89/687/EEC, 91/314/EEC and 91/315/EEC, the Council has instituted programmes of specific options for addressing the remoteness and insularity of these regions, creating a suitable framework for the adoption of measures in the various sectors of activity which require particular attention as regards the strengthening of the Community support necessary for alleviating the permanent constraints which characterise these regions (Poseidom, Poseican and Poseima programmes). These programmes are designed to take account, in implementing Community policies, of the special characteristics and handicaps of these regions in connection with their remoteness and insularity. Their economic dependence on a small number of products, their limited markets, their dual nature as both Community regions and as territories situated in an environment of developing countries thus affect the economic and social life of these regions. Symbolising Community solidarity with the outermost regions, and essential to their integration into the internal market, these programmes were conceived as frames of reference for the implementation of Community policies in these regions. The report states that the current scheme adopted by Council Regulation 1587/98/EC recognises that the difficulties facing the fishery industry of the European Union are aggravated in particular by the cost of transporting fishery products to markets as a result of the remoteness and isolation of the outermost regions. It also recognises that programmes of options specific to the remote and insular nature of these regions form part of the Community's policy to assist them, taking account of the constraints to which they are subject and their specific development problems, and emphasises that non-industrial and inshore fishing is important from the social and economic viewpoints. Throughout its operation, the scheme has afforded lasting stability which has allowed the economic players concerned tooperate under conditions similar to those enjoyed by their counterparts on the European mainland. The scheme has made a contribution to maintaining employment in regions where there are very few other opportunities. The benefits these operators have derived from the scheme have enabled the various sectors concerned to maintain an adequate level of output and development. The conditions giving rise to the additional production costs will not change, since they derive from the very nature of the outermost regions. In the regions to which this scheme applies, production and marketing conditions in the fishing sector have evolved as described in the previous chapters. Given this development, consideration should be given to adapting the legal framework of the scheme, thus ensuring that the goals for which it was established continue to be properly attained.�