27 Amendments of Carmen FRAGA ESTÉVEZ related to 2009/2107(INI)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the aquaculture sector directly interacts with policy areas which are of prime importance to our society, such as the environment,production of high quality animal protein, the protection and management of the environment, coastal and urban planning, regional development, public health and consumer protection, and whereas it is therefore essential that due consideration be given to the sector's interests and that it be treated fairlythey be given equal attention,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the 2002 Commission communication has proved clearly restrictive and inadequate in encouraging the sector and Member States to give a significant boost to the development of the EU aquaculture sector, while the past decade has seen a substantial growth of the sector worldwide, in addition to that in the demand for fishery products, from both farmed and wild fish, with a sharp increase in imports of such products from non-EU countries,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the EU is a net importer of fishery and aquaculture products, and the demand for these products is increasing both globally, due to the growing world population, and at Community level due to the past and future accession to the EU of countries in which this trend in demand is even more accentuated, and also because consumption patterns are changing towards foods based on healthier products,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the Community sustainable aquaculture sector can make a major contribution to ensuring high-quality food supplies as regards fish products and thus to reducing the pressure on wild species, as well as playing an important role as regards food security, economic activities and employment, especially in rural and coastal regions,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the EU should therefore give the sustainable aquaculture sector and its development at EU level greater strategic importance, providing it with the necessary financial aid, bearing in mind that the high technology required by aquaculture activities often entails substantial investment by companies, whatever their size,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the considerable research and technological innovation required to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of aquaculture and enable operators to be successful in the sector is beyond the possibilities of many companies in the sector, in particulregardless of whether these are SMEs or large enterprises,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas, in order to be effective, a sustainable aquaculture policy will need to be structured in such a way as to benefit fromand promote the multidisciplinary and coordinated involvement of all stakeholders in the sectorectors related to the activity,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the aquaculture industry must take into account the organic and physiological differences between fish species, having due regard to their feeding cycles and habits and the stress levels caused by farm density or transport, andmeasures adopted to foster the sustainable development of aquaculture and the aquaculture industry should, in some cases, take into account the need to minimise the stress levels of species during rearing and transport, as well as the use of more humane slaughter techniques,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas aquaculture operators in many EU countries complain aboutare burdened by excessive bureaucratic obstacles and administrative formalities that limit their productivity and competitiveness, doing more than a little to discourage new plants and investment in the industryinvestors,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas, at the same time, many EU countries lack specific national or regional development plans that regulate installations in coastal and marine areas and clearly identify the zones available foran integrated management system for coastal areas, as well as specific national or regional development plans that regulate the establishment of aquaculture plants, thereby preventing easily foreseeable conflicts of interest with other economic sectors, such as tourism, agriculture and coastal fishing,
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas EU products currently face fierce competition from imports from non- EU countries (above all, Turkey, Chile, Vietnam and China), where companies can operate with much lower overheads, as they are not subject to the same legal constraints, the same stringent environmental and plant health legislation, and low wages (social dumping), thereby putting the EU aquaculture sector under further pressure,
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O a (new)
Recital O a (new)
Oa. whereas aquaculture activities have a lower environmental impact than other primary sectors (agriculture and stockbreeding), and aquaculture products are thus more sustainable than agricultural and stockbreeding products; whereas a section of European civil society is also unaware of this fact, which may give rise to unfounded prejudices about these products,
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that, with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Parliament has ceased to be a consultative body in the fisheries sector and has become a co- legislator in the aquaculture sector as well;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that targeted support for technological and scientific research is an essential prerequisite for the development of a sustainable, modern, efficient, economically viable and environment- friendly aquaculture sector; also points out that research networks, multidisciplinary research groups, technology transfer and coordination between the sector and scientists through technology platforms are essential to ensure a good return on investment in R&D;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers it urgent and essential to lay down rigorous, transparent quality and traceability criteria for EU aquaculture products, to improve fish feedstuffs and general fish health and to introduce and strengthen certificationlabelling criteria for high- quality aquaculture products and organic aquaculture production;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Commission to introduce a European eco-labelling programme for fishery and aquaculture products that follows the Community guidelines on eco-labelling; emphasises that eco-labelling not only gives European aquaculture products a competitive advantage, but also brings transparency to a market in which the proliferation of private certifications can confuse consumers;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission swiftly to bring forward a proposal for a regulation consolidating in a single text all the EU legislation governing the aquaculture sectortogether and simplify, as far as possible, the EU legislation governing the aquaculture sector, and to promote coordination between the different Directorates-General that have responsibility in this field;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to set out in that regulation specific criteria and general rules for the various product categories, with which every aquaculture establishment in the Community must comply, but to delegate responsibility for the implementation phase to the competent territorial authorities, in full accordance with the principle of subsidiarity – e.g. parameters on environmental impact, water supply, feeding of farmed fish, molluscs and crustaceans, product traceability and labelling, and fish health and respect for feeding habits, etc.;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to strive to ensure that the Member States make a formal undertaking to document and apply their countries’ existing environmental and tourism protection legislation and – in respect of those zones not subject to restrictions –Member States to undertake to adopt the necessary development plans for the management of marine, coastal and inland water areas, so that aquaculture operations can be set up by means of facilitating access to space;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Member States to work towards a ‘maritime development plan’ andor speed up the introduction of systems for the integrated management of coastal areas, as provided for under the EU’s newintegrated maritime policy and in line with environmental impact assessments, which covers all the different product categories in the sector, such as sub coastal aquaculture, offshore and freshwater aquaculture, taking into account the different types of aquaculture (including shellfishing), and to undertake to reduce existing bureaucratic obstacles to obtaining the requisite permits and concessions to start a sustainable aquaculture activity, possibly by setting up ‘one-stop shops’ that centralise the administrative formalities incumbent on operators in a single location; also calls on the Member States to draw up long-term strategic plans to foster the sustainable development of this activity;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Hopes that the future European Fisheries Fund in support of the reformed CFP will provide for specific budget lines for sustainable aquaculture development and support for investment in that sector, with a particular focus on technologically innovative plants with a lesser environmental impact (e.g. water purification systems for eliminating residues and pollutants), farms that promote fish health, and sustainable forms of aquaculture;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Hopes that this Fund will take into due account the need to provide financial support for SMEs and family run enterprisaquaculture companies, whatever their size, on account of the need for substantial investment in technology that this activity requires;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Commission to provide incentives fortake into account the trend towards the development of offshore aquaculture facilities operating in difficult environmental and climate conditions (e.g. in the Atlantic Ocean) by allowing suitable derogations to the rules on state aidas a potential solution to the problem of the availability of space on European coasts, and to take account of the difficult environmental and climate conditions in which this type of aquaculture is carried out;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop the role of the professional aquaculturist and to introduce a training policy which meets the needguarantee appropriate vocational training in the field of aquaculture, boost the competitiveness of the sector, and which fully harnesses the possibility not only ofencourage the possible retraining of members of the professional fishing industry in alternative methods of managing aquatic environments but also contributes, thus also helping to creating jobs for young people in rural and coastal areas and the outermost regions;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strive to ensure that Community customs legislation is applied rigorously to all aquaculture products, including feedstuffs and raw materials for feedstuffs, imported from third countries;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Calls on the Commission to strive to ensure swifter harmonisation of the procedures for the approval of the pharmaceuticals used in aquaculture, and to promote reciprocal advanced know -how agreements with third countries (e.g. Norway), and to promote the introduction of best practices by other countries and international bodies;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Reiterates the importance of conducting systematic checks at portlaces giving access to the internal market in order to provide consumers with a watertight guarantee that the aquaculture products imported from third countries are systematically subject to stringent quality control and are therefore fully compliant with EU rules in the field of hygiene and public health;