Vol. 438 No. 6
59 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for the Marine the progress, if any, that has been made to ensure that Ireland obtains a minimum of 25 per cent share of the Norwegian cod quota in the Bering Sea; the reason Greece has now been included for consideration at this late stage; when such a decision was taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As part of the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement, it was agreed that a quantity of arcto-norwegian cod would be made available by Norway to the Union. The amount of the cod is to rise from 6,000 tonnes to 11,000 tonnes in 1997.
In accordance with a Declaration of the General Affairs Council on 21 October, 1992, the cod is to be divided between the member states of the Union on the basis of cohesion criteria. The final distribution is to be decided by the General Affairs Council acting unanimously.
The EEA has now come into effect from January 1994. Accordingly, the distribution of the arcto-norwegian cod is currently under discussion. Last December, the Commission proposed that Spain and Portugal should each be allocated 45 per cent of the cod with Ireland and Greece each receiving 5 per cent. The rationale for this proposal was that 20 per cent of the fish should be allocated equally among the cohesion countries (Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal — 5 per cent each) and the remaining 80 per cent should be allocated on the basis of traditional catches. As neither Ireland nor Greece has a record of catches in the area, this meant that the remaining 80 per cent would be allocated equally between Spain and Portugal, who would then receive a total of 45 per cent each.
This proposal is, of course, totally unacceptable to Ireland; nor is it in line with the decision to allocate the fish exclusively on the basis of cohesion criteria or general principles of equity.
