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Struan Stevenson |
The European Parliament's Fisheries Committee has confirmed the appointment of Scottish Conservative MEP Struan Stevenson as its rapporteur or draftsman on one of the three main legislative reports of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform package.
The report covers a European Commission proposal for a regulation on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products.
Commenting on his appointment, Struan Stevenson said: "A Common Market Organisation (CMO) for fisheries and aquaculture products has existed since 1970 and has been steadily smothered by layer upon layer of red tape and an overly complex framework. As a core part of the CFP reform package, it will be my job to draw up a new regulation which will become law across all 27 Member States in 2013.
“I feel that this is a great opportunity for Scotland, where we saw £435 million worth of marine-caught fish landed last year, while at the same time we have the EU’s largest fish farming sector, employing over 6000 people. I intend to ensure that my report steers the EU towards a more straightforward, simplified market organisation, which rewards sustainable fishing and ensures a level playing field between fish landed or produced inside the EU, as compared with fish imported from outside the EU."
Struan Stevenson is a Conservative MEP for Scotland and Senior Vice-President of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee. He is also President of the Climate Change & Biodiversity Intergroup in the European Parliament.
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