Commission Decision

of 29 October 2008

on a Community financial contribution towards Member States’ fisheries control, inspection and surveillance programmes for 2008

(notified under document number C(2008) 6262)

(2008/860/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 of 22 May 2006 establishing Community financial measures for the implementation of the common fisheries policy and in the area of the Law of the Sea [1], and in particular Article 21 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Member States have forwarded to the Commission their fisheries control programme for 2008 together with the applications for a Community financial contribution towards the expenditure to be incurred in carrying out the projects contained in such programme.

(2) Applications concerning actions listed in Article 8(a) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 may qualify for Community funding.

(3) Applications for Community funding shall comply with the rules set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No 391/2007 [2].

(4) It is appropriate to fix the maximum amounts and the rate of the Community financial contribution within the limits set by Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 and to lay down the conditions under which such contribution may be granted.

(5) In order to qualify for the contribution, automatic localisation devices should satisfy the requirements fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003 of 18 December 2003 laying down detailed provisions regarding satellite-based Vessel Monitoring Systems [3].

(6) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Decision provides for a Community financial contribution for 2008 towards expenditure incurred by Member States for 2008 in implementing the monitoring and control systems applicable to the common fisheries policy, as referred to in Article 8(a) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006. It establishes the amount of the Community financial contribution for each Member State, the rate of the Community financial contribution and the conditions on which such contribution may be granted.

Article 2

Closure of outstanding commitments

Member States shall ensure that all payments in respect of which a reimbursement is claimed shall be made by the Member State concerned by 30 June 2012. Payments made by a Member State after this deadline shall not be eligible for reimbursement. The budgetary appropriations related to this Decision shall be decommitted at the latest by 31 December 2013.

Article 3

New technologies and IT networks

Expenditure incurred on the purchase of, installation and technical assistance for, computer technology and setting up of IT networks in order to allow efficient and secure data exchange in connection with monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries activities, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure within the limits laid down in Annex I.

Article 4

Automatic localisation devices

1. Expenditure incurred in the purchase and fitting on board of fishing vessels of automatic localisation devices enabling vessels to be monitored at a distance by a fisheries monitoring centre through a vessel monitoring system (VMS) shall qualify for a maximum financial contribution of EUR 4500 per vessel within the limits established in Annex II.

2. Within the EUR 4500 limit provided for in paragraph 1, the financial contribution for the first EUR 1500 of eligible expenditure shall be at a rate of 100 %.

3. The financial contribution for eligible expenditure comprised between EUR 1500 and EUR 4500 per vessel shall amount to a maximum of 50 % of such expenditure.

4. In order to qualify, automatic localisation devices shall satisfy the requirements fixed by Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003.

Article 5

Electronic recording and reporting systems

Expenditure incurred on the purchase of, installation and technical assistance for, electronic recording and reporting systems (ERS) in a fisheries monitoring centre, in order to allow efficient and secure data exchange in connection with monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries activities, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure within the limits laid down in Annex III.

Article 6

Electronic recording and reporting devices

1. Expenditure incurred on the purchase and fitting on board of fishing vessels of ERS devices enabling vessels to record and report electronically to a fisheries monitoring centre data on fisheries activities, shall qualify for a maximum financial contribution of EUR 4500 per vessel within the limits established in Annex IV.

2. The financial contribution for expenditure incurred on the purchase and fitting on board fishing vessels of ERS devices shall be at a rate of 75 % within the EUR 4500 limit provided for in paragraph 1.

3. In order to qualify for a financial contribution, ERS devices shall satisfy the requirements established under Council Regulation (EC) No 1966/2006 [4] and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1566/2007 [5].

Article 7

Pilot projects

Expenditure incurred in pilot projects on new control technologies shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure within the limits laid down in Annex V.

Article 8

Training

Expenditure incurred on training and exchange programmes of civil servants responsible for monitoring control and surveillance tasks in the fisheries area shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure within the limits laid down in Annex VI.

Article 9

Assessment of expenditure

Expenditure incurred in implementing a system to assess expenditure incurred in controlling the common fisheries policy shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure within the limits laid down in Annex VII.

Article 10

Seminars and media tools

Expenditure incurred in initiatives including seminar and media tools aimed at enhancing awareness among fishermen and other players such as inspectors, public prosecutors and judges, as well as among the general public on the need to fight irresponsible and illegal fishing and on the implementation of common fisheries policy rules, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 75 % of the eligible expenditure within the limits laid down in Annex VIII.

Article 11

Fisheries patrol vessels and aircraft

1. Expenditure related to the purchase and modernisation of vessels and aircraft used for inspection and surveillance of fishing activities by the competent authorities of the Member States shall qualify, within the limits laid down in Annex IX, for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure incurred by Member States.

2. The financial contribution specified for each Member State in Annex IX is calculated on the basis of the utilisation of the concerned vessels and aircraft for inspection and surveillance as a percentage of their total yearly activity, as declared by the Member States.

Article 12

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 29 October 2008.

For the Commission

Joe Borg

Member of the Commission

[1] OJ L 160, 14.6.2006, p. 1.

[2] OJ L 97, 12.4.2007, p. 30.

[3] OJ L 333, 20.12.2003, p. 17.

[4] OJ L 409, 30.12.2006, p. 1, as corrected by OJ L 36, 8.2.2007, p. 3.

[5] OJ L 340, 22.12.2007, p. 46.

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ANNEX I

New technologies and IT networks

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Eligible expenditure | Community contribution |

Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Bulgaria | 50000 | 50000 | 25000 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Germany | 50000 | 50000 | 25000 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 4500000 | 3000000 | 1500000 |

Spain | 415936 | 340336 | 170168 |

France | 70000 | 70000 | 35000 |

Ireland | 2185864 | 2155864 | 1077932 |

Italy | 4700000 | 1700000 | 850000 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 77330 | 77330 | 38665 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 1174410 | 1104410 | 552205 |

Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 140000 | 140000 | 70000 |

Slovenia | 51300 | 51300 | 25650 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 350000 | 350000 | 175000 |

Sweden | 135000 | 135000 | 67500 |

United Kingdom | 201435 | 200781 | 100391 |

Total | 14101275 | 9425021 | 4712511 |

A total amount of EUR 4676254 EUR was considered as ineligible expenditures on the basis of Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 391/2007.

A 50 % rate of Community contribution was applied on eligible expenditure according to Article 3 of the present Decision.

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ANNEX II

Automatic localisation devices

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Community contribution |

Belgium | 0 | 0 |

Bulgaria | 0 | 0 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 0 | 0 |

Germany | 0 | 0 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 0 | 0 |

Spain | 0 | 0 |

France | 0 | 0 |

Ireland | 1500000 | 750000 |

Italy | 0 | 0 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 0 | 0 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 0 | 0 |

Austria | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 0 | 0 |

Slovenia | 20000 | 17500 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 0 | 0 |

Sweden | 0 | 0 |

United Kingdom | 0 | 0 |

Total | 1520000 | 767500 |

The Community contribution was calculated according to the rules defined in Article 4 of the present Decision.

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ANNEX III

Electronic recording and reporting systems

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Eligible expenditure | Community contribution |

Belgium | 210000 | 210000 | 105000 |

Bulgaria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 604026 | 604026 | 302013 |

Germany | 530000 | 530000 | 265000 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Spain | 115500 | 115500 | 57750 |

France | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Ireland | 2500000 | 2500000 | 1250000 |

Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 1540000 | 1540000 | 770000 |

Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 |

United Kingdom | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Total | 5499526 | 5499526 | 2749763 |

The Community contribution has been calculated on the basis of a 50 % rate according to Article 5 of the present Decision.

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ANNEX IV

Electronic recording and reporting devices

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Eligible expenditure | Community contribution |

Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Bulgaria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 |

France | 2000000 | 1098000 | 823500 |

Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 |

United Kingdom | 739834 | 739834 | 554876 |

Total | 2739834 | 1837834 | 1378376 |

For France, this expenditure concerns 244 electronic logbooks, which have a maximum threshold of EUR 4500 each. As a consequence, EUR 902000 were considered as ineligible.

In conformity with Article 6 of the present Decision, a rate of 75 % has been applied to these expenditures.

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ANNEX V

Pilot projects

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Eligible expenditure | Community contribution |

Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Bulgaria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 |

France | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Sweden | 234000 | 234000 | 117000 |

United Kingdom | 295934 | 269031 | 134516 |

Total | 529934 | 503031 | 251516 |

EUR 26903 were considered as ineligible expenditure according to Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 391/2007. A rate of 50 % of Community contribution was applied on eligible expenditure according to Article 7 of the present Decision.

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ANNEX VI

Training

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Eligible expenditure | Community contribution |

Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Bulgaria | 40000 | 40000 | 20000 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 123753 | 83485 | 41743 |

Germany | 18500 | 18500 | 9250 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 40000 | 40000 | 20000 |

Spain | 173910 | 157110 | 78555 |

France | 92000 | 92000 | 46000 |

Ireland | 122000 | 122000 | 61000 |

Italy | 1465230 | 1165230 | 582615 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 17400 | 17400 | 8700 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 120000 | 120000 | 60000 |

Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 200000 | 200000 | 100000 |

Slovenia | 48500 | 48500 | 24250 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 130000 | 130000 | 65000 |

Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 |

United Kingdom | 178746 | 177266 | 88633 |

Total | 2770039 | 2411491 | 1205746 |

EUR 358548 were considered as ineligible expenditure according to Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 391/2007. A rate of 50 % of Community contribution was applied on eligible expenditure according to Article 8 of the present Decision.

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ANNEX VII

Assessment of expenditure

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Eligible expenditure | Community contribution |

Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Bulgaria | 12000 | 12000 | 6000 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 |

France | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 |

United Kingdom | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Total | 12000 | 12000 | 6000 |

A rate of 50 % of Community contribution was applied on eligible expenditure according to Article 9 of the present Decision.

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ANNEX VIII

Seminars and media tools

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Eligible expenditure | Community contribution |

Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Bulgaria | 58000 | 58000 | 43500 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 33557 | 33557 | 25168 |

Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 1000000 | 1000000 | 750000 |

Spain | 394800 | 394800 | 296100 |

France | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Italy | 497200 | 447200 | 335400 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 15900 | 15900 | 11925 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovenia | 8500 | 8500 | 6375 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 |

United Kingdom | 104250 | 104250 | 78188 |

Total | 2112207 | 2062207 | 1546656 |

An amount of EUR 50000 was considered as ineligible expenditure according to Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 391/2007.

A rate of 75 % of Community contribution was applied to eligible expenditure as indicated in Article 10 of the present Decision.

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ANNEX IX

Patrol vessels and aircraft

(EUR) |

Member State | Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control programme | Eligible expenditure under this Decision | Community contribution |

Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Bulgaria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Denmark | 301678 | 166678 | 83339 |

Germany | 3826458 | 68000 | 34000 |

Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Greece | 14603000 | 558000 | 279000 |

Spain | 44225546 | 1657546 | 828773 |

France | 575000 | 500000 | 250000 |

Ireland | 260000 | 60000 | 30000 |

Italy | 24000000 | 0 | 0 |

Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Luxembourg | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Romania | 130000 | 130000 | 65000 |

Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Finland | 180000 | 170000 | 85000 |

Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 |

United Kingdom | 1005765 | 999448 | 499724 |

Total | 89107447 | 4309672 | 2154836 |

Among this global amount of EUR 89107447 planned in the national fisheries control programmes for patrol vessels and aircraft, a global amount of EUR 80361000 will be dealt with under the second financial decision. A reduction of this envelope will be necessary in order to respect the budgetary commitments available in 2008.

EUR 4436775 of these planned expenditures were considered as ineligible according to Articles 6 and 7 and to Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 391/2007.

A rate of 50 % was applied on all eligible expenditure according to Article 11 of the present Decision.

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