§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if discussions took place concerning the fishing fleets of Poland and Estonia and the review of the Common Fisheries Policy when he last met his colleagues from other member states of the European Union to discuss enlargement; and if he will make a statement. [147897]
§ Mr. VazI last discussed enlargement with my EU colleagues at the General Affairs Council on 22 January. We did not discuss the fisheries chapter of the negotiations. This has been provisionally closed with Cyprus, Hungary, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia. The indicative timetable for negotiations set out in the Commission's strategy for enlargement of November 2000 envisages conclusion of negotiations on this chapter with other candidates in the second half of this year. All candidates will be expected to apply the common fisheries policy in full upon accession and access to fisheries resources within EU waters will be based on the principle of relative stability, which allocates national quotas according to historic catch levels.