THE COMMISSION OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty
establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council
Decision 97/413/EC of 26 June 1997 concerning the
objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the
Community fisheries sector for the period from 1
January 1997 to 31 December 2001 with a view to
achieving a balance on a sustainable basis between
resources and their exploitation(1), as amended by
Decision 2002/70/EC(2), and in particular Article 4
thereof,
Having regard to
Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December
1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements
regarding Community structural assistance in the
fisheries sector(3), as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 2369/2002(4), and in particular Article 6
thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The
Commission has received applications from the
Kingdom of Belgium, Ireland, the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to
increase MAGP IV objectives for reasons of safety,
navigation at sea, hygiene, product quality and
working conditions that concern vessels of more than
12 m in length overall.
(2) The
Commission has to decide on a case-by-case basis
according to provisions applicable at the time the
applications were received. The Commission considers
that clear and transparent criteria should be
established in the present decision in order to
ensure a fair assessment of the requests, while
preventing fishing effort to increase as a result of
the decision.
(3)
Applications received after 31 December 2001
concerning vessels of more than 12 m in length
overall will not be eligible, according to Article 4
of Decision 97/413/EC and Article 6 of Regulation
(EC) No 2792/1999.
(4) New
vessels outperform old vessels due to the effect of
technological progress, which leads to an increase
in fishing effort. New vessels already have to
comply with the most recent safety requirements.
(5) If a
vessel should be lost at sea, the owner will have no
option other than to replace the vessel in order to
continue fishing activity.
(6) Some
modifications of existing vessels that result in an
increase in tonnage should be accepted in order to
increase enclosed volumes devoted to living and
working onboard, provided that these modifications
do not increase fishing effort.
(7) The
tonnage of vessels under 15 m in length overall is a
function of length, breadth and depth, and increases
of enclosed volume over the main deck do not affect
tonnage expression.
(8) The
increase in propulsive power has a direct effect on
fishing effort that cannot be isolated from its
influence on safety.
(9) The
measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Management
Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
HAS ADOPTED THIS
DECISION:
Article 1
Eligibility of
requests
The requests to increase MAGP
IV tonnage objectives will be considered eligible
subject to the following conditions:
1. the
requests have been forwarded on case-by-case basis
by the Member State before 31 December 2001;
2. the
vessel must be properly registered in the Fleet
Register of the Community;
3. the
vessel concerned has an overall length of 15 m or
more;
4.
the increase in tonnage is the result of
modernisation works over the main deck performed or
to be performed on an existing registered vessel at
least five years old on the starting date of the
works. In the case where a vessel has been lost at
sea, the increase in tonnage is the result of a
greater volume over the main deck of the replacement
vessel with respect to the vessel that was lost;
5. the
increase in tonnage is justified in order to improve
safety, navigation at sea, hygiene, product quality
and working conditions;
6. the
volume under the main deck of the modified vessel or
the replacement vessel is not increased.
Requests to increase the MAGP
IV power objectives will not be eligible.
Article 2
The requests that are accepted
according to the criteria fixed in Article 1 are
those listed in Annex I.
The
requests that are rejected according to the criteria
fixed in Article 1 are those listed in Annex II.
Article 3
This Decision is addressed to
the Kingdom of Belgium, Ireland, the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Done at Brussels, 4 April
2003.
For the
Commission
Franz
Fischler
Member of the
Commission
(1) OJ L 175, 3.7.1997, p. 27. (2) OJ L 31,
1.2.2002, p. 77. (3) OJ L 337, 31.12.1999, p. 10.
(4) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 49.