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A RECENT European Parliament resolution has declared that the EU's fishing and aquaculture industries must not be exposed to unfair competition from imports.
The resolution also calls for fishery products to be classified as "sensitive" in global trade talks.
MEPS said fisheries and aquaculture do not lend themselves to a purely free-trade approach. Reasonable, adjustable tariff protection should remain a tool to regulate imports, while products from third countries should meet the same standards as European-produced fish.
European production falls well short of EU demand: already 60 per cent is met by imports, acknowledges the resolution on the future EU fisheries import policy, drafted by French MEP Alain Codec However, the MEPs insist that the future import arrangements must not affect the overall goal of the upcoming fisheries reform: to preserve viable fishery and aquaculture sectors.
The resolution, which seeks to influence the upcoming reform of the common fisheries policy, was adopted by 374 votes to 13 with 11 abstentions. Mr Codec said: "The European Parliament now co-legislates with the Council when it comes to the common trade policy, including on fisheries policy. The European Commission and Council need to take into account the considerations of the Parliament expressed in this report."
The European Parliament said it believed that responsibility for leading the trade talks on fishery and aquaculture products should be transferred from the Trade Commissioner to the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. It also calls for fishery and aquaculture products to be treated as sensitive products in the Two's talks on gradual tariff reduction. The Commission should ensure that any agreement on subsidies in the fisheries sector does not place European producers at a competitive disadvantage.
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