Press Release: Ombudsman urges Commission to correct error concerning fishing quotas

The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has asked the European Commission to correct an administrative error concerning fishing quotas in the West of Scotland. This followed a complaint from a Scottish fishermen's association about an EU Regulation concerning fishing quotas for the year 2007. During his investigation, the Ombudsman confirmed that the Commission had erroneously interchanged the data in two columns of a document which served as a basis for the Regulation. This mistake led to a reduction in the number of fishing days allocated for specific groups of vessels in the West of Scotland. The Ombudsman called on the Commission to correct its error in order not to risk any knock-on effects for subsequent years.