aid - EU - fishing
EU to give 600 million euros to fishermen
Tuesday 08 July 2008
The European Commission said Tuesday that it will give protesting EU fishermen a 600 million euro handout, to help "adjust to new realities" such as soaring fuel prices, overcapacity, and severely declining world fish stocks.
Tuesday 08 July 2008
By AFPThe European Commission said Tuesday it aimed to release up to 600 million euros (940 million dollars) in aid to EU fishermen to help them cope with soaring fuel prices.
The European Union's executive arm said that the funds were part of a package of emergency measures to encourage restructuring of segments of fishing fleets hardest hit by the current fuel crisis.
"High fuel prices and chronic overcapacity mean that European fisheries are in a time of crisis," EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said in a statement.
"The commission recognises the need to help the sector adjust to the new realities," he added.
The package foresees aid for fishermen that temporarily refrain from going out to sea and allows governments to offer more public aid than is usually allowed by the commission.
The measures still have to be approved by EU fisheries ministers, who are due to discuss them later this month.
The commission said that fuel prices for fishing boats had soared 240 percent since 2002 putting severe pressure on a sector already struggling to cope with overcapacity and dwindling fish stocks.
"The action the commission is proposing rests on three main principles: that we must focus aid on reducing overcapacity, on reducing fuel dependency, and on market measures which can help fishermen raise the first-sale value of their fish," Borg said.
"Only in this way can we help establish a truly sustainable future for the industry."
Fishermen have led waves of often militant protests across Europe in recent months against the cost of fuel prices, including in Brussels where one incident caused minor damage to an EU building.
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