§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those countries which are held by the European Commission not to have upheld MAGP IV limits; and if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy thereon. [96585]
§ Mr. MorleyThe latest available information published by the Commission was in its Annual Report to the Council and to the European Parliament on the results of the multi annual guidance programmes for the fishing fleet at the end of 1997. A copy is in the Library (ref. COM 175/1999). This showed that two countries (France and Netherlands) had failed to meet the objectives of the MAGP III by the end of 1997 and were not on target to meet their objectives for MAGP IV. The report also noted that the status for Italy could not be determined because of a major revision of their fleet register.