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COUNCIL DECISION
of 27 November 1989
on a Community financial contribution towards expenditure incurred by Member States for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Community system for the conservation and management of fishery resources
(89/631/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas the common fisheries policy, which guarantees the long-term existence of fishery stocks and thus employment in this sector, can achieve its objectives only if its rules are complied with absolutely and thus if enforcement is effective;
Whereas the Member States, in ensuring compliance with the conservation and control rules of the common fisheries policy within their fishery zones and on their territory, are carrying out an obligation of Community interest;
Whereas for some Member States the scale of the enforcement task is unrelated to budgetary capacity or relative prosperity and may in certain cases constitute a disproportionate burden;
Whereas it is therefore appropriate to provide for a contribution by the Community towards certain enforcement expenditure incurred by certain of those Member States;
Whereas the total Community contribution should remain within the limits of a budgetary provision of ECU 22 million per annum over an initial period of five years and the corresponding financial resources will be entered as annual appropriations in the general budget of the European Communities;
Whereas any such contribution should be conditional on the attainment, by the Member States which are beneficiaries, of a satisfactory standard of enforcement both at sea and on land,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. The Community shall, under the conditions laid down in the Annex, contribute to the financing of the expenditure incurred by Member States in enforcing the Community arrangements for the conservation and management of fishery resources.
Pending the adoption of Community rules for the conservation and management of fishery resources applicable in Mediterranean waters, the Community shall, on a provisional basis until 31 December 1991, contribute under the same conditions as those set out in this Decision to the financing of the expenditure incurred by the Member States concerned to ensure compliance with the applicable rules. Member States which wish to benefit from this contribution shall notify such rules to the Commission and justify their merits.
2. The Community contribution shall relate to eligible expenditure incurred by Member States from 1 January 1991 to 31 December 1995.
3. For any Member States in any year, the Community contribution shall not be lower than 35 % or higher than 50 % of the eligible expenditure.
4. The Community may grant advances up to a maximum of 50 % of its contribution.
5. The Council, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 43 of the Treaty and on the basis of a Commission report on the application of this Decision, shall decide before 30 June 1995 on the provisions for Community participation which might apply from 1 January 1996.
Article 2
1. Member States wishing to benefit from the Community contribution to the financing of expenditure shall forward to the Commission, on the first occasion before 30 June 1990 and subsequently before 30 June of each year, a schedule containing the information specified in paragraph 2 of the Annex.
2. The Commission shall decide, on the first occasion before 31 December 1990 and subsequently before 31 December of each year, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 170/83 of 25 January 1983 establishing a Community system for the conservation and management of fishery resources (1), as amended by the 1985 Act of Accession, on the Community contribution, the eligibility of planned expenditure and any conditions to which the contribution may be subject.
3. The European Parliament and the Council shall be informed by the Commission, by 31 March of the year following the latter's decision, of the actions undertaken in accordance with this Decision and the improvementsnoted in the supervision of fishing activities by the Member States.
Article 3
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 27 November 1989.