RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands concerning an extension of the Protocol on the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands concerning an extension of the Protocol on the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands

(11262/20 – C9‑0368/2020 – 2020/0275(NLE))

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the draft Council decision (11262/20),

– having regard to the draft agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands concerning an extension of the Protocol on the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands (11271/20),

– having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 43 and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a)(v), and Article 218(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C9-0368/2020),

– having regard to Rule 105(1) and (4) and Rule 114(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Budgets,

– having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Fisheries (A9-0243/2020),

1. Gives its consent to the conclusion of the agreement;

2. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Cook Islands.

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

The Cook Islands, an archipelago of 15 Pacific islands divided into two groups, have a population of about 15 000 (2011 figures). They have a special relationship with New Zealand whereby they share New Zealand’s currency and all Cook Islanders are entitled to New Zealand nationality. The fisheries sector accounts for less than 3% of the Cook Islands’ GDP. In value terms, its share has remained stable against a backdrop of GDP growth of 34%, meaning that its relative weight in the local economy has declined.

Domestic tuna catches are, for the most part, landed outside the Cook Islands. Those landed at the port of Avatiu on Rarotonga cover domestic consumption and exports to New Zealand and Japan.

The Cook Islands exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which borders Kiribati, Tokelau, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Niue, and high seas areas, extends over 1.98 million km2, which adds to the economic potential of the fisheries sector, but also entails problems as regards monitoring and control, since illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing is difficult to tackle over so vast an area in which resources are scattered so widely.

The Cook Islands have traditionally allowed vessels from other countries to have access to their EEZ. The agreements in question, however, were concluded on a private basis for purely commercial purposes and thus make it harder to build relations based on stock sustainability criteria. This has had a serious impact on the living conditions of coastal communities. Some tuna species have also been affected. 

Most of the purse seiners fishing in the Cook Islands fly the US flag. The reopening of a canning plant in American Samoa has brought new economic opportunities to the region. Longline fishing licences are held mainly by vessels from China and Vanuatu.

The European fleet operating in the region consists of purse seiners. Given that EU longliner catches have tended to be located in the warmer waters to the south of the Cook Islands and bearing in mind the requirements of the Cook Islands’ shark conservation regulations, there will be little interest in the future for EU longliners to fish in the Cook Islands EEZ.

The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Cook Islands entered into force on 10 May 2017. The Agreement’s four-year implementing protocol has applied since 14 October 2016 and expires on 13 October 2020.

On 7 July 2020, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations with the Government of the Cook Islands for the conclusion of a new implementing protocol. As the negotiations have been delayed owing to the COVID-19 crisis, the Commission, in line with its mandate, negotiated, on behalf of the Union, an Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands concerning an extension of the Protocol on the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands for a maximum period of one year. The negotiations were concluded successfully and the exchange of letters was initialled on 29 July 2020.

The aim of the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters is to enable the Union and the Government of the Cook Islands to continue working together to promote a sustainable fisheries policy and the sound exploitation of fisheries resources in the waters of the Cook Islands, and to allow Union vessels to carry out their fishing activities in those waters.

To ensure the continuity of fishing activity by Union vessels in the waters of the Cook Islands, the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters should be applied on a provisional basis, pending completion of the procedures necessary for its entry into force.

The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement is a strategic choice for the EU and the Cook Islands that will provide fishing opportunities for vessels flying the flags of Member States on the basis of the best scientific advice available, in compliance with the conservation and management measures laid down by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) within the limits of the available surplus.  The decision to opt for an agreement in this context is supported by the above-mentioned ex ante assessment carried out by external experts in June 2013. The assessment concluded that drawing up a protocol would be a better solution in the long term – for the sustainability of fish stocks, respect for workers’ rights, and the development of the two parties’ fisheries sectors – than direct negotiation between vessels and the authorities of the Cook Islands.

 

The Protocol provides for fishing opportunities for four tuna seiners. Taking into account the requirements under the agreements applying to the Western and Central Pacific (Kiribati and the Solomon Islands), the Protocol will enable Member States’ fleets to remain in their present operating environment and help to create a network of fishing opportunities that could bring benefits in the long run.

The annual financial contribution under the agreement is to be EUR 735 000 for the first and second years and EUR 700 000 for the third and fourth years, this being based on:

(a) a reference tonnage of 7 000 tonnes, for which the access-related amounts have been set at EUR 385 000 for the first and the second years and EUR 350 000 for the third and fourth years;  and

(b) support for the development of the Cook Islands’ sectoral fisheries policy, amounting to EUR 350 000 for the first, second, third, and fourth years.  This is in line with the aims of national fisheries policy, not least the Cook Islands’ needs both as regards support for scientific research and small-scale fisheries and as regards monitoring, control, surveillance, and measures to combat illegal fishing.

 

One point which the rapporteur would like to stress is that the contributions intended to support the development of the Cook Islands’ sectoral fisheries policy range between 47.6% and 50% of the total to be transferred, which, in percentage terms, amounts to a major contribution.

The rapporteur recommends that Parliament approve the extension of the Protocol, given its importance both to the Cook Islands and to the EU fleets operating in their waters.

Finally, the rapporteur stresses that Parliament must, at every stage, be kept fully informed without delay about procedures related to the Protocol or its renewal.