Common fisheries policy: action plan 2003-2005 for uniform implementation, common inspection structure

The Parliament has adopted the report drafted by Ilda FIGUEIREDO (GUE/NGL, P) by 82 votes in favour, 0 against and 3 abstentions, on the Commission communication 'Towards uniform and effective implementation of the common fisheries policy'. Parliament stresses that the experience and training arising from fisheries monitoring missions offer a solid basis for the effective implementation of fisheries monitoring, and believes that the present set-up should serve as the starting-point for action to improve cooperation in implementing the Community's inspection and surveillance strategy. It emphasises the need for real participation of the interested parties in all stages of the policy, from conception to execution. The Parliament welcomes the notion of an action plan for short-term implementation (2003-2005), with the objectives of improving the coordination of inspection and surveillance activities at Community level, rationalising resources and setting priorities. This action plan must have an impact on those aspects requiring greater cooperation between Member States, especially in international areas governed by regional organisations to which the EU is a contracting party, and that the efforts of crossborder producer organisations in particular could make a contribution to this. Attention is drawn to the crucial role of the national authorities in the monitoring and evaluation of inspection and surveillance activities, on the basis of shared criteria and priorities and developments in fishery activities; calls for the results to be made available to other Member States and the Commission on the basis of prior joint agreements. The necessary proposal to introduce a code of conduct for inspection, on the basis of dialogue with the sector and the national authorities, is welcomed. The Commission's intention to submit a proposal for the creation of a joint inspection structure, in the context of establishing a Community fisheries control agency with a view to ensuring coordination of national inspection and surveillance resources, is welcomed by the Parliament. Moreover, Parliament calls for a Community office to be set up in the framework of the Commission proposal, with a view to ensuring more effective monitoring. It insists that the Commission must, in coordination with the Member States, undertake a feasibility study, on as broad a basis as possible, with regard to establishing an organisational structure for Community inspection and surveillance, which should include a comparative cost-benefit analysis and consideration of better use of national resources and the practical implications in terms of material, financial and human resources. Lastly, the Commission is called upon to take an active part in monitoring and funding the monitoring tasks carried out in the international waters administered by the international fisheries organisations, in order to coordinate and increase the efficiency of the monitoring of fishing carried out by the European Union in these fishing grounds.�