According to the press communiqué European Parliament has approved the plans to modernize the North-West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation and create a new dispute settlement procedure. The members of the parliament have approved the resolution by Wałęsa Jarosław Leszek (EPP, PL) on the amended convention on the Northwest Atlantic fisheries region.
They have also voted in favour of a resolution by Carmen Fraga Estévez (EPP, ES) to allow the transposition into EU rules of a fisheries accord on control and enforcement measures in the North-East Atlantic. The resolution was adopted by 636 votes to 21, with 5 abstentions.
For Northwest Atlantic the Parliament approved changes to the convention on co-operation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) area, which encompasses a large portion of the Atlantic, including areas near the USA, Canada, Greenland and St Pierre and Miquelon (France). The main aim of the convention is to improve the utilisation and conservation of fishery resources.
For North East Atlantic the Parliament gave its consent to go-ahead on rules transposing into EU law the new control and enforcement scheme of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), designed to monitor vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, thus making them effective in the whole Union. The approved text reflects a compromise agreed with the Council on 15 September.
