EC/Solomon Islands Fisheries Partnership Agreement

 The committee adopted the report by Carmen FRAGA ESTÉVEZ (EPP-ED, ES) approving the proposal under the consultation procedure, subject to a number of amendments. These reflected the traditional position taken by Parliament on renewing fishing agreements, namely, that a general report on the application of the agreement should be presented by the Commission before any decision is taken to renew the Protocol. Only after the report had been received and Parliament had been consulted should the Council authorise the Commission to enter into negotiations for a possible new Protocol.

MEPs called for the Commission to draw up annual reports on the implementation of the agreement so that Parliament had the information it needed for the purposes of  evaluation. They also wanted the Commission to forward a copy of the multiannual sectoral programme which would be drawn up jointly by the SolomonIsland authorities and the European Union. Finally, the committee wanted shipowners to be given a say, given that they were meeting a significant part of the costs of the agreement. It therefore stipulated that, "when the first meeting of the Joint Committee provided for in Article 9 of the Agreement is held, the Commission shall inform the SolomonIsland authorities of the attendance of shipowners' representatives at subsequent meetings of the Joint Committee."