WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1840/97 by Carlos COSTA NEVES to the Commission. Right to compensation
25. 2. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 60/51 (98/C 60/80) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1840/97 by Carlos Costa Neves (PPE) to the Commission (28 May 1997) Subject: Right to compensation Shipowners of the Armaço~es Baleeiras do Sul do Pico company in Pico (Azores) have had to stop whaling, an activity which they carried on for more than a century and which was of great historical, cultural and economic value and of great significance to the families concerned. They were forced to stop by the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. They argue that the EU has compensated German and Spanish businesses in similar circumstances. Might it not therefore be possible to consider compensating them for having to stop whaling? Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (16 July 1997) When the Community was enlarged to include the two Member States on the Iberian peninsula on 1 January 1986, Portugal accepted the áacquis communautaireí on the regulation of whaling under the Bern Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats signed on 19 September 1979. As compensation for ceasing this historical and cultural activity on the Portuguese island of Pico in the Azores, the Commission part-financed structural measures designed to retrain whale fishermen for other activities, in particular fishing for tuna, which is a fairly abundant species in the waters of this part of the Atlantic. Pico thus benefited from the construction of seven tuna boats and the construction of a modern coldstore for the conservation of fishery products. Further structural measures have been part-financed in the region under Regulation (EEC) No 355/77 on common measures to improve the conditions under which agricultural products are processed and marketed, Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 on Community measures to improve and adapt structures in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and Regulation (EEC) No 4042/89 on the improvement of the conditions under which fishery and aquaculture products are processed and marketed (1). Since the beginning of 1994, measure 1. 4 under the multifund operational programme Pedraa II (Azores), which is part of the 1994-99 Community support framework for Portugal, has provided ECU 21 million from the financial instrument for fisheries guidance (FIFG) for further schemes in the fisheries sector. The Commission is not aware of any compensation paid by the Community to German and Spanish companies. (1) OJ L 51, 23. 02. 1977. OJ L 376, 31. 12. 1986. OJ L 388, 30. 12. 1989. (98/C 60/81) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1841/97 by Irene Soltwedel-Scha¤fer (V) to the Commission (30 May 1997) Subject: Shipbuilding industry in the EU 1. Jobs: How many people are currently employed in shipbuilding in the EU, and how many in the electronics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and plant engineering sectors? How many people have been made redundant in the last 15 years?