§ Mr. HarrisTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Fisheries Ministers' meeting on 29 February in Brussels; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerTogether with my noble Friend the Minister of State, Scottish Office, I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers in Brussels on 29 February and 1 March.
The Council agreed a series of fish tariff quotas which will enable the processing industry in the United Kingdom and other member states to obtain specified quantities of 544W some species of fish at reduced rates of tariff from third countries. Last year the Council did not manage to settle this issue until June: reaching an agreement so much earlier this year will help our processing industry to make full use of these quotas.
The Council also agreed in prinicple a new Community fisheries agreement with Morocco, subject to the opinion of the European Parliament and the completion of national parliamentary scrutiny procedures. This is a very important agreement which ensures that the Spanish and Portuguese fleets can resume fishing in Moroccan waters from which they were excluded at the beginning of this year. The additional cost of this agreement will be met by transfers from within the 1988 budget.
The Commission's proposed amendments to the basic marketing regulation, which would change the tuna market support regime and introduce regimes for additional species, were again discussed but no conclusion was reached.