§ 14. Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the Government's priorities with regard to reform of the CFP. [22315]
§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which aspects of the Common Fisheries Policy he is seeking to reform. [24762]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Government are pursuing a wide-ranging agenda of improvements to the Common Fisheries Policy. Our priorities include making the CFP a more effective instrument for conservation, improving enforcement, introducing a greater regional dimension into decision-making, strengthening the economic benefits that countries derive from their quotas and improving the way we manage quotas in the UK.
§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the United Kingdom share under the 1983 allocation relating to fisheries will remain constant irrespective of any new members joining the EU(a) during and (b) after the transitional period to the Common Fisheries Policy has expired. [23700]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Government are committed to maintaining the UK's share of fish established under the principle of relative stability both up to and after the review of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2002.
§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what benefits he seeks to achieve for British fishermen by reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. [24761]
§ Mr. MorleyBy improving the Common Fisheries Policy, the Government seek to safeguard fish stocks and secure a sustainable future for the sea fishing industry.
§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what procedure he will follow to achieve reform of the Common Fisheries Policy; [24712]
(2) what is his time scale for achieving reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. [24711]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Common Fisheries Policy as a whole will be reviewed by the Council of Ministers in 2002. However, the Government are working to achieve improvements before then by promoting measures in the areas which it has identified as priorities.