§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye (Mrs. Lait) of 7 July,Official Report, column 163, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Maastricht treaty on the operation of the common fisheries policy; and if she will seek a ruling from the appropriate European body on whether article 38 of the treaty of Rome gives sufficient powers to apply a common fisheries policy to (a) the catching, (b) conservation and (c) protection of fish.
§ Mr. JackArticle 38 of the treaty of Rome provides
The common market shall extend to agriculture and trade in agricultural products. 'Agricultural products' means the products of the soil, of stockfarming and of fisheries and products of first-stage processing directly related to these products.The products subject to the common policy are listed in annex II to the treaty of Rome. They include fish, crustaceans and molluscs, both live and dead.
The objectives of the common policy are set out in article 39. They include increasing productivity by promoting technical progress and by ensuring the rational development of production, stabilising markets and ensuring the availability of supplies. These objectives are served by measures which regulate the catching, conservation and protection of fish.
The part of the treaty of Rome dealing with agriculture —articles 38 to 47—therefore also provides the legal base for the common fisheries policy, and the Commission has proposed, and the Council has adopted CFP regulations on the basis of article 43.
The Maastricht treaty does not amend the provisions of the treaty of Rome which establish the CFP. However, the CFP, like other policies, will be subject to the general provisions of the Maastricht treaty relating for example to subsidiarity, and to the enhanced enforcement of Community legislation.