Resolution on amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2561/2001 aiming to promote the conversion of fishing vessels and of fishermen that were, up to 1999, dependent on the fishing agreement with Morocco

The European Parliament adopted a resolution following the non-renewal of the EC-Morocco fisheries agreement. It referred to Council Regulation 2561/2001/EC and pointed to the difficulties that have arisen, particularly in the application of socio-economic measures. These problems are due to the mandatory requirement that these measures be tied to scrapping and/or the creation of joint enterprises, particularly as regards the EUR 12 000 individual premium. Abolishing this mandatory link or making it more flexible would enable a large number of crew members who have lost their jobs and have been unable to apply for the individual premium to claim this premium. The requirement that the EUR 12 000 premiums be refunded on a pro rata temporis basis should be adjusted to match the special nature of the specific action. Parliament called on the Commission to: - submit a legislative proposal amending the Regulation and resolving these problems in its application; - make the deadlines for implementation laid down in the Regulation2561/2001 more flexible and sufficiently generous to ensure that the improvements made through the legislative procedure amending the Regulation are not rendered pointless by the duration of the procedure; - propose an adjustment to the requirement that the EUR 12 000 premiums be refunded on a pro rata temporis basis, so that the 12 months of professional inactivity as fishermen can be calculated as from 1 January 2002.�