The development of the Community fishing fleet must be regulated in particular according to decisions that the Council and the Commission are called upon to take by virtue of Chapter II of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (4).
(2)
The objective of the common fisheries policy should be to provide for sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources and of aquaculture in the context of sustainable development, taking account of environmental, economic and social aspects in a balanced manner.
(3)
The scope of the common fisheries policy extends to the conservation, management and exploitation of living aquatic resources and aquaculture, as well as to the processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture products in so far as those activities are practised on the territory of Member States, in Community waters or by Community fishing vessels or nationals of Member States.
(4)
Under Article 33(2) of the Treaty, account must be taken of the particular nature of the activity which results from the social structure of the sector and from structural and natural disparities between the various regions involved in fishing activities.
(5)
The sustainable development component of the common fisheries policy has been integrated into the rules governing the Structural Funds since 1993. Its implementation should be pursued in the context of sustainable development by means of the European Fisheries Fund (hereinafter EFF).
(6)
Since the principal objective of this Regulation, namely to further the common fisheries policy, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States given the structural problems encountered in the development of the fisheries sector and the limits on the financial resources of the Member States in an enlarged Union, and can therefore be better achieved at Community level by providing multi-annual financing focused on the relevant priorities, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve this objective.
(7)
The common fisheries policy and therefore the EFF must incorporate the Community's priorities for sustainable development as defined in the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000 and the Gothenburg European Council of 15 and 16 June 2001.
(8)
Programming should ensure coordination of the EFF with other funds geared to sustainable development and with the Structural Funds and other Community funds.
(9)
The activity of the EFF and the operations it helps to finance should be compatible with other Community policies and comply with all Community legislation.
(10)
Action by the Community should be complementary to action carried out by Member States or it should seek to contribute to that action. In order to ensure significant added value partnership should be strengthened. This partnership, with full regard to the national rules and practices of the Member States, concerns regional, local and other public authorities, as well as other appropriate bodies, including those responsible for the environment and for the promotion of equality between men and women, the economic and social partners and other competent bodies. The partners concerned should be involved in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of assistance.
(11)
Under Article 274 of the Treaty, Member States are to cooperate with the Commission to ensure compliance with the principles of sound financial management. To that end this Regulation specifies the conditions allowing the Commission to exercise its responsibilities for the execution of the general budget of the European Union.
(12)
If the activities of the EFF are to be effective and transparent, the responsibilities of the Member States and of the Community should be precisely defined. Those responsibilities should be specified for each stage of programming, monitoring, evaluation and control. Without prejudice to the powers vested in the Commission, implementing and inspecting assistance should be primarily the responsibility of the Member States.
(13)
Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty provide for the elimination of inequalities, and the promotion of equality, between men and women.
(14)
The Commission should establish an indicative breakdown of available commitment appropriations using an objective and transparent method, with a significant concentration on the regions covered by the Convergence objective.
(15)
The appropriations available under the EFF should be indexed on a flat-rate basis for programming.
(16)
In order to strengthen the leverage effect of Community resources by favouring, as far as possible, recourse to private sources of financing and to take better account of the profitability of the operations, the forms of assistance available from the EFF should be diversified and the rates of assistance differentiated with a view to promoting the Community interest, encouraging the use of a wide range of financial resources and limiting the contribution of the EFF by encouraging the use of appropriate forms of assistance.
(17)
To reinforce the strategic content of the common fisheries policy in line with the Community's priorities for the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture, Member State should adopt, following a dialogue with the Commission, a national strategic plan on all relevant aspects of the common fisheries policy.
(18)
In order to address the need for simplification and decentralisation, programming and financial management should be carried out at the level of the operational programme and priority axes alone, with programme complements and Community support frameworks being discontinued.
(19)
The programming system should be simplified. To that end the activities of the EFF should take the form of one single operational programme per Member State, in accordance with its national structure. The programming exercise shall cover the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013.
(20)
The adoption by the Council of multi-annual recovery plans and management plans are an absolute priority and should be accompanied by fishing-effort adjustment plans under the EFF.
(21)
The non-renewal of a fisheries agreement between the Community and a third country or a substantial cut in fishing opportunities under an international arrangement or other arrangement should also give rise to multi-annual fishing-effort management plans aimed at adjusting the Community fishing fleet to the new situation.
(22)
Provisions should be laid down for adjusting fishing effort in connection with the adoption of emergency measures by the Member States or the Commission as provided for in Articles 7 and 8 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.
(23)
Provisions should also be laid down for adjusting fishing effort in connection with the adoption of national decommissioning schemes as part of the obligations laid down in Articles 11 to 16 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002.
(24)
The Community fishing fleet should be adjusted in order to adapt it to the available and accessible resources.
(25)
Provisions should be laid down for support for investment on board, in particular to address the need to restructure the Community fishing fleet by supporting fishers and vessel owners to replace engines by new engines with the same or less power.
(26)
In addition, specific provisions should be laid down in order to address the specificities of small scale coastal fisheries.
(27)
Socio-economic accompanying measures are needed to implement the restructuring of the Community fishing fleet.
(28)
Detailed rules should be laid down for granting allowances and financial compensation to fishers and owners of fishing vessels in cases of temporary cessation of fishing activities.
(29)
It is vital for the fisheries sector that a sustainable balance be achieved between aquatic resources and their exploitation, having due regard to environmental impact. Appropriate measures should therefore be adopted not only in order to safeguard the food chain but also for aquaculture and the processing industry.
(30)
Detailed rules should be laid down for granting aid to aquaculture, inland fishing, processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture products, while ensuring that these sectors retain economic viability. For that purpose, it is necessary to identify a limited number of priority objectives for assistance and to focus the structural aid for aquaculture, processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture products on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with priority given to micro and small-sized enterprises.
(31)
Measures of common interest with a broader scope than measures normally undertaken by private enterprises should also be supported by the EFF.
(32)
There is a need to provide accompanying measures for the common fisheries policy, in particular, by reducing its socio-economic impact by implementing local development strategies for the sustainable development of fisheries areas.
(33)
Having regard to the diversity of situations and areas throughout the Community, the policy for the development of fisheries areas should form part of an integrated approach based on an appropriate territorial strategy, be adapted to the local context, be as decentralised as possible, give preference to the participation of actors on the ground, be based on a bottom-up approach, allow small-scale operations and ensure the substantial participation of private sector actors.
(34)
By way of technical assistance the EFF should provide support for evaluations, studies and exchanges of experience in order to facilitate the implementation of the operational programme and to promote innovative approaches and practices for simple and transparent implementation.
(35)
The implementation of the operations of the EFF by the Member States through shared management should provide sufficient guarantees as to the details and quality of implementation, the results of operations and their evaluation and sound financial management and its supervision.
(36)
The effectiveness and impact of the operations of the EFF also depend on improved and more thorough evaluation. The responsibilities of the Member States and the Commission in this regard and the arrangements to ensure the reliability of evaluation should be laid down.
(37)
In the interest of a good working partnership and the proper promotion of Community assistance, the broadest possible information and publicity about it should be provided for. The authorities responsible for managing assistance should be responsible for this aspect and for keeping the Commission informed of measures taken.
(38)
It is appropriate to establish ceilings for public contribution per operation.
(39)
It is also appropriate to establish ceilings for the contribution by the EFF in relation to the total public expenditure per priority axis.
(40)
In order to guarantee efficient and correct implementation, the obligations of the Member States should be laid down with regard to management and control systems, the certification of expenditure and the prevention, detection and correction of irregularities and infringements of Community law. With respect to management and control it is necessary, in particular, to establish the modalities by which Member States give the assurance that the systems are in place and function satisfactorily.
(41)
Member States should adopt adequate measures to guarantee the proper functioning of management and control systems. To that end, a managing authority, a certifying authority and an audit authority should be designated for each operational programme and their responsibilities should be specified. These responsibilities should relate primarily to the sound financial implementation, organisation of evaluation, certification of expenditure, audit and compliance with Community law. Provision should be made for regular meetings between the Commission and the national authorities concerned in order to monitor the assistance.
(42)
It should be stipulated that the monitoring committee is a body which is appointed by the Member State for the purpose of ensuring the quality of implementation of an operational programme.
(43)
Indicators and reports on implementation are essential for monitoring and should be better defined so that they reflect reliably the progress and the quality of the implementation of the operational programme.
(44)
Without prejudice to the Commission's existing powers as regards financial control, cooperation between the Member States and the Commission in this field should be reinforced.
(45)
The rules and procedures governing commitments and payments should be simplified so that a regular cash flow is ensured. A pre-financing of 7 % of the contribution from the EFF would help to speed up the implementation of the operational programme.
(46)
In addition to the suspension of payments where a serious deficiency is detected in the management and control systems, there should be measures which allow the authorising officer by delegation to interrupt payments where there is evidence to suggest a significant deficiency in the sound operation of these systems or which allow for the Commission to make a deduction from payments if the Member State concerned has not implemented all remaining measures in a corrective plan of action.
(47)
In order to ensure the sound management of Community resources, improvements should be made to the forecasting and implementing of expenditure. To that end Member States should regularly send the Commission their forecasts regarding the use of Community resources and any delays in financial implementation should give rise to repayment of advances and to automatic decommitments.
(48)
Procedures for closure should be simplified by offering the possibility to those Member States which so wish, in accordance with the schedule which they select, to partially close their operational programme with respect to the operations completed. The appropriate framework for doing so should be provided.
(49)
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (5) by the management procedure provided for in Article 4 of that Decision. However, in certain instances and for the sake of efficiency, the consultative procedure provided for in Article 3 of that Decision is the most adequate one.
(50)
Detailed transitional provisions should be laid down to allow preparation of new programming immediately upon entry into force of this Regulation and to ensure that assistance to Member States is not interrupted pending the adoption of the operational programme in accordance with this Regulation,
