Fishing vessels: emergency measure for scrapping

The committee adopted the report by Daniel VARELA SUANZES-CARPEGNA (EPP-ED, E) amending the proposal under the consultation procedure. Although MEPs agreed with the proposed measures, they called on the Commission to propose new budget funding to support them. The committee rejected the idea of reprogramming existing funds, arguing that this would depend on voluntary acceptance by the Member States, which had already earmarked these funds for other purposes. MEPs also emphasised that the current financial perspective was insufficient to finance the emergency measures. Other amendments criticised the scientific basis for the Commission·s plans, given that on some stocks there was no consensus, while for others there were simply no up-to-date reports. The committee therefore urged the Commission to make more use of TACs and measures to limit fishing effort, rather than scrapping, which was irreversible and had greater socio-economic effects on the communities concerned. �