§ Mr. BoothTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Fisheries Council held in Brussels on 23 November; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryI chaired this meeting of the Council. The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir Hector Monro), represented the United Kingdom.
The Council reached agreement on the general guidelines for the multi-annual guidance programmes to be set for 1993–96. These envisage cuts of up to 20 per cent. in demersal fleets, cuts of up to 15 per cent. for beam trawlers and a freeze in the size of pelagic fleets. Forty to 45 per cent. of the necessary cuts can be made by effort reductions. The detailed arrangements are to be agreed by the EC structures committee.
The Council agreed the arrangements for tariff quotas and suspensions for 1993. The 1993 support prices had already been agreed in principle prior to the Council.
575WThe Council also discussed some of the main elements in the Commission's proposal for a replacement to the basic regulation for the common fisheries policy. There was general endorsement of the principle of relative stability and the need to continue the special access arrangements agreed in 1983, including the Shetland box. There are to be further expert discussions with a view to reaching final agreement on a new regulation at the December Council.