De Palacio urged to quit post

Date: 30/05/02

By Martin Banks

COMMISSION Vice-President Loyola de Palacio was yesterday (29 May) urged to quit following her botched attempts to sink plans to reform the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Socialist leader Enrique Barón Crespo, a fellow Spaniard, led calls for her to stand down during a heated debate in the European Parliament.

'Her position in the Commission has become untenable and she should go without delay,' he declared.

And, amid signs of growing rifts within the EU executive itself, de Palacio was also attacked by the fisheries commissioner, Franz Fischler, following her strong criticism of his reform package.

The Austrian described as 'unbecoming' a letter sent to him by de Palacio, in which she condemned his 'brutal' proposals.

'It is clear that Mrs Palacio does not agree with the CFP. Her choice of words in the letter, however, is regrettable and I wish we could get back to talking about the substance of the reforms,' Fischler told MEPs during their mini-plenary session in Brussels.

Such open criticism of a fellow commissioner is highly unusual: the 20-member college is supposed to act collectively.

In her letter, sent to the fisheries commissioner on Monday, de Palacio expressed 'global reserve on every aspect' of Fischler's proposed reforms and claimed they would not achieve their aim of conserving threatened fish stocks.

'These are brutal decisions which forget the conditions of life and work of our fishermen and do not contribute to the protection of fish species,' she said.

But her response received little backing from the chairman of the fisheries committee, Struan Stevenson.

'This latest intervention by de Palacio, particularly its timing, merely serves to pour petrol on the flames of what is already a bonfire of rapidly-increasing dimensions,' he said.

De Palacio did not hear the strong criticism against her - she was thousands of miles away on official business in Russia as the debate was taking place. However, her spokesman, Gilles Gantelet, said there was 'no question' of her resigning. 'The commissioner maintains she has acted at every stage fully within the rules,' he added.

If endorsed by ministers later this year, Fischler's reforms will result in an 8.5 reduction in the size of the EU fishing fleet - the equivalent of 8,600 vessels - and cuts of up to 60 in allowable catches.

But Stevenson said that despite loud opposition from Spain, it was actually Nordic countries and the UK which would bear the brunt of Fischler's cutbacks.

He told the meeting: 'The average reduction in gross tonnage of fishing vessels in the north European countries is 21.3 and only 9.2 in the south.

'Spain gets away with a gross reduction of 9.4, while the UK is hit by 23.1 and Sweden by a huge 49.7 - almost half its fleet. All this makes you wonder whether the Commission has, after all the fuss, finally succumbed to Spain's long-running bullying to protect its fleet. If anyone has got grounds to complain it is the north European countries who now stand to lose most.'

However, other members welcomed Fischler's proposals.

French Green Yves Pietrasanta said: 'The plan is designed to rehabilitate fisheries at a Community level, rather than favouring any given member states. For years, the member states have refused to accept the need to reduce fishing effort and now they find themselves at a precipice, faced with the drastic but necessary measures being proposed.'

The reforms now face a stormy passage through the EU Council of Ministers, with opposition expected from not only Spain but France, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Ireland. Miguel Arias Cañete, the Spanish fisheries minister, immediately set the tone when he dismissed Fischler's plan as 'nothing more than a draft text', warning that the 'real battle' was just about to begin.

He made it clear that the stage is now set for a long battle between member states - a majority of which must ratify the reforms if they are to go ahead.

The UK, Germany, Sweden and Austria are all backing the main thrust of Fischler's proposals, while Denmark, the next holder of the Union's rotating presidency, is edging towards supporting them.

The key dates for decisions will be:

• 9 June: Fisheries committee draws up draft reports on Fischler's plan. As fisheries legislation is not subject to co-decision, Parliament can give an opinion only;
• 11 June: EU fisheries ministers meeting in Luxembourg discuss plan for first time;
• 1 July: Denmark takes over EU presidency from Spain;
• September: Parliament expected to vote on plan;
• October, November and December: Further meetings of fisheries ministers;
• 1 January 2003: Deadline for CFP to be in place. Some of its crucial measures were set up under special 'derogation' and expire on 31 December.

European Commission Vice-President Loyola de Palacio was urged to quit on 29 May 2002 following her strong criticism of plans to reform the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).