Common Fisheries Policy CFP: control, Community financial contribution, 2004-2005

The committee adopted the report by Elspeth ATTWOOLL (ELDR, UK) broadly approving the proposal under the consultation procedure, subject to a number of amendments: - as well as focusing on monitoring on board vessels, funding should be made available to assist with the setting-up costs incurred when establishing new methods of onshore monitoring; - in order for the programme to be properly assessed, Member States should be required to include a set of indicators when they submit their annual programmes. The committee suggested a non-exhaustive list of such indicators, including the number of infringements detected, the rate of infringement procedures ended compared to the procedures opened, the number of inspections both at sea and at ports, and indicators specific to each project; - in view of the differing sanctions imposed across the EU for the same infringements, MEPs felt that financing should be provided for information exchange between public prosecutors and judges on the imposition of effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions; - the interim assessment reports which the Member States are required to submit to the Commission each yeat should be made available to the European Parliament, the Member States or the Council on request; - it should be clarified that, as declared in the Legislative Financial Statement, the Commission may decide on a contribution rate of up to 100% of the eligible expenditure for pilot projects involving new technology and for information awareness activities, rather than the 50% rate applicable to most of the projects covered by this proposal. �