Tag Archives: common fisheries policy

What European liberals have achieved over the past five years – the environment (part 2)

Environmental protection is one of those fields where international collaboration is key, and so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see so much being done at a European level…

Tackling single use plastics

ALDE successfully steered legislation through the European Parliament to limit the negative effects of single-use plastics, in particular marine litter. Single-use plastic products for which alternatives are readily available, such as cutlery, cotton bud sticks, plates, straws and beverage stirrers, will be banned from the EU market from 2021 so that they can be replaced by more sustainable alternatives. The consumption of several other items, for which no …

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LibLink: Tim Farron: European fisheries vote shows that EU can be reformed

Tim Farron has been writing in the Huffington Post about a crucial vote in the EU to reform the way in which fish are caught. This might seem tedious to many of us, but this has positive, practical implications for anyone who catches fish and anyone who likes to eat it.

Tim first set out the issues with the current situation:

The situation right now is drastic. Job losses within the UK fishing sector continue to rise as fish stocks fall, and it tends to be the small-scale fishermen who are hardest hit. The total amount of fish caught in the EU

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This week in Europe: 15-18 April

Europe Day - European Union - Some rights reserved by Niccolò CarantiLib Dem MEP calls on EU Parliament to scrap planned budget hikes

On Tuesday, senior UK Liberal Democrat MEP George Lyon called on the European Parliament to scrap planned budget increases ahead of the next series of votes on EU spending.

Mr Lyon, a vice chair of the EU Budget Committee, has tabled amendments that, if implemented, would see the one off costs of funding the European election absorbed within a real-terms budget freeze.

Commenting, he said:

At a time when

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Nigel Farage’s disappearing fish act

nigel farageLast week I drew attention to the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, which amongst other improvements ends the practice of discards. Chris Davies MEP has been a leading advocate for reform, and had garnered cross-party support.

Even Nigel Farage had said:

First let me stress that the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has been a complete environmental, economic and social disaster and UKIP uses what say it has in the EU “Parliament” to vote against discards and protect British fishing.

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This week in Europe: 4-7 February

MEPs vote against discards and for sustainable fisheries across Europe

On Wednesday, MEPs voted for an ambitious reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by 502 to 137 votes.

Chris Davies, who founded the cross-party MEP campaign group Fish For the Future, commented after the historic vote:

Today’s overwhelming support for EU fisheries reform from MEPs across all parties and nationalities puts us in a very strong negotiation position with Member States in the Council of Ministers. The Irish Presidency has made clear it wants to complete the reform by June.

People across Europe have said that we must

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MEPs to vote on crucial overhaul of Common Fisheries Policy

chris daviesWith all our attention today on Westminster (or Eastleigh) we can easily overlook important decisions being taken in Europe.

Tomorrow the European Parliament will be voting on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Now fish do not quite carry the same emotional appeal as equal marriage, but the management of fisheries is of significant environmental as well as economic significance.

The reform, which will be led by scientists as well as fishermen, will set targets for the rebuilding of fish stocks, and to end the practice of discarding perfectly edible fish. Every …

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LDVideo: Chris Davies MEP – MEPs’ kindness will kill the fishing industry

Speaking at a plenary session of the European Parliament yesterday, Chris Davies, European Parliament member for the North West, urged his fellow MEPs to look beyond the short term to vote to restore fish stocks:

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Opinion: Rock Salmon and Chips anyone?

Fish and Chips

Before the rise in popularity of Indian curries, kebabs and Chinese take aways, battered fish and chips were considered the British national dish. Rock salmon was a staple – among the cheapest offerings in fish and chip shops around the country. However, demand for “rock salmon” devastated the shark’s population off the coasts of Britain and France, where the spiny dogfish is widely considered to be critically endangered.

The Common Fisheries Policy was introduced by the European Union in the 1970s to ensure a profitable and sustainable fishing industry – an objective in which it has completely failed.

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Chris Davies MEP writes: A view from the North (2/3)

You can read the first instalment of Chris Davies’s View from the North here.

It will some as no surprise to members in the North West that I asked them some questions on issues relating to the environment and reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

I have led on environmental issues for the pan-European Liberal group in the Parliament since 1999, but since being re-elected in 2009 I have made sustainable reform of the CFP my biggest policy priority.

I asked whether members agreed with the majority of the world’s scientists that the climate is changing. 88% agreed and only …

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