§ Lord Stoddart of Swindonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether in the course of deliberations in, and decisions made by, the Fisheries Council of the European Union, or proposals made by its commission, for conserving fish stocks in the Community area of the North Sea, account was 75WA taken of parallel proposals and decisions made by the governments of Norway and Iceland, and other nations concerned with similar problems; and, if so, to what extent any of their proposals were adopted or rejected by the European Commission or Council, respectively, and for what reasons. [HL957]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)The annual fisheries agreement between the EU and Iceland for 2003, which was concluded before the December Fisheries Council, does not involve fishing in the North Sea. The decisions taken by the EU Council of Ministers took account of negotiations with Norway, with whom certain fish stocks are jointly managed in the North Sea.