§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the implications of the ruling by the European Court of Justice that the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 contravenes European Law. [20827]
§ Mr. BaldryAction has already been taken to amend merchant shipping legislation following the European Court of Justice's judgments in earlier Factortame cases (C 221/89 and C 246/89) in 1991.
In regard to the recent judgment on the latest Factortame case (C 48/93) and the steps which the Government plan to take to deal with quota hopping, I would refer to the replies which my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. Harris) on 5 March 1996, Official Report, columns 130–31, and to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang) on 6 March 1996, Official Report, column 345.