The European Commission may receive the power to ban EU imports of fish from overfished stocks and related species, after the EP Fisheries (PECH) Committee endorsed a new deal to this effect. The agreement still needs to be endorsed by Parliament as a whole in september and the Council soon after.
According to the European Parliament press service, MEPs insisted in the negotiations that to ensure the long-term sustainability of fish stocks of common interest to the EU and third countries, the EU should take a hard line on third countries that fail to live up to their responsibilities.
The rapporteur and head of the Parliament's negotiating team Pat the Cope Gallagher, aid accordingly: "I strongly believe that the agreed text will deliver both workable and effective trade sanctions, which will act as a real deterrent to countries who engage in unsustainable fishing practices now and in the future".
Source: European Parliament
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
PECH Committee keen to empower EC on fish import ban
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