Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2006)864 - Submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2006)864 - Submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2006)864  |
| date | 22-12-2006 |
- Grounds for and objectives of the proposal
The current Community legislation based on Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96 on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture production requires the Member States to submit to the Commission annual data on the volume of aquaculture production. However, since the legislation was adopted aquaculture has grown greatly (currently contributing 27% by value to the total EU fishery production) and the rational development and management of aquaculture under the Common Fisheries Policy requires a broader range of data on this sector.
- General context
The purpose of the Community legislation on aquaculture statistics is required to review and assess the situation of the market for aquaculture products.
The current proposal has been developed in parallel with the proposal from the Directorate-General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs (DG FISH) for a revised framework Data Collection Regulation (DCR). The Commission will continue to ensure that concepts and definitions used in the current proposal on aquaculture statistics covering largely structural characteristics of the sector are compatible with those in the future implementing DCR legislation which will concentrate on economic aspects of the sector.
- Existing provisions in the area of the proposal
The proposal is designed to improve and replace the existing Community legislation. Council Regulation (EC) No 788/96 on the submission by Member States of statistics on aquaculture production should therefore be repealed.
- Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union
The adoption of this Regulation will help in getting better data for implementing the strategy of the Commission for a sustainable development of the European aquaculture (COM/2002/0511).
- Consultation of interested parties
Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents
The national fishery statisticians were presented with and discussed a working document setting out the technical content of this proposal. This document had been developed in close collaboration with the Directorate-General for Fisheries to make sure it covered the data needed for aquaculture in order to develop and administer the Common Fisheries Policy.
After several revisions to take into account the advice and comments from the discussions, the national fishery experts reached broad agreement on the technical content of the proposal.
- Collection and use of expertise
Scientific/expertise domains concerned
The national representatives at the meeting of Eurostat's Working Group on Fishery Statistics were experts with knowledge of the existing legislation and of the national systems for collecting and compiling fishery statistics in general and, in many cases, of aquaculture in particular.
Open discussion between the national experts both bilaterally and at meetings of the Working Group on Fishery Statistics.
The experts were from the national fishery ministries and/or the national statistical institutes.
No mention was made of any potentially serious risks with irreversible consequences.
Although the current proposal extends the existing legislation no risks were identified.
The results of the experts' discussions were included in the minutes of the meeting of the Working Group on Fishery Statistics.
- Impact assessment
Although this proposal involves additional work for the Member States the extra administrative burden for the sector and the Member States has been limited by:
- permitting the use of sampling techniques where a full census would be burdensome,
- providing for derogations where the provision of data in particular sectors would create difficulties for the national authorities
- limiting the transmission of data to once every three years where annual changes are insignificant.
3)
Contents
- Legal elements of the proposal
- Budgetary implication
- 2) Consultation of interested parties and impact assessment
- Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account
- Methodology used
- Main organisations/experts consulted
- Summary of advice received and used
- Means used to make the expert advice publicly available
- 5) Additional information
- Summary of the proposed action
The objective of the proposal is to provide for Member States to:
- submit data annually on the volume and value of the production from aquaculture with a breakdown by species, environment (freshwater or saltwater) and technology (e.g. in ponds or cages):
- submit data every third year on the input to capture-based aquaculture, i.e. the volume and value of fishery products taken from the wild and placed in aquaculture units for on-rearing to a marketable state:
- submit data every third year on production from hatcheries with a breakdown showing the products are to be used for on-growing in aquaculture units or released to the wild for example for restocking of waters.
- submit data every third year on the structure of aquaculture holdings giving information on the technology used and the size of the holdings.
- Legal basis
Article 285 of the EC Treaty provides the legal basis for Community statistics. The Council, acting in accordance with the codecision procedure, may adopt measures for the production of statistics where necessary for the performance of the activities of the Community. The same Article sets out requirements relating to the production of Community statistics, stipulating that they must conform to standards of impartiality, reliability, objectivity, scientific independence, cost-effectiveness and statistical confidentiality.
- Subsidiarity principle
The subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community.
The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reasons:
Action by the Member States alone will be insufficient to ensure the supply of comparable statistics required to develop and monitor fair and effective Community policies on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products. The growing importance of aquaculture means that reliable and comparable statistics are needed by the Member States. Action by the Member States alone, without coordination and harmonisation at Union level, would be an inefficient and ineffective approach to meeting this need. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in Article 5 of the EC Treaty, the objective of the proposal, namely systematic submission of data on production from aquaculture with a view to producing harmonised Community statistics, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting individually and can therefore be achieved better by the Community.
Experience has shown that in recent years the Member States have become increasingly aware of the need for data on aquaculture but use a variety of concepts and definitions with the result that the data are not comparable at EU level. This seriously reduces their usefulness for management of aquaculture at the Community level.
Community action will better achieve the objectives of the proposal for the following reasons:
The proposed Regulation provides for coordination and harmonisation of data at EU level and for the national authorities to submit reports on the methods used to collect and compile them. The content and quality of the data submitted in these reports will be reviewed by the Working Group on Fishery Statistics of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Statistics. Subject to acceptance of these reports, the national authorities will be permitted to use such data collection techniques as are appropriate to the structure of the aquaculture sector on their territory.
Although the Commission is in the best position to organise collection of Community statistics, the Member States are responsible for organising and operating the national statistical systems. Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community statistics provides that Community statistics must be governed inter alia by the principles of impartiality and statistical confidentiality. Impartiality implies the availability of statistics with a minimum delay to all users. It is subject to the obligation that data used by the national authorities and the Commission for production of Community statistics must be considered confidential if they allow statistical units to be identified, either directly or indirectly, thereby disclosing individual information. The national authorities are required to submit methodological reports which are reviewed by the Working Group on Fishery Statistics to assess the quality of the national systems for collecting and compiling the data.
The analysis of aquaculture in the Community has to be undertaken at EU level using harmonised and comparable national data.
The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle.
- Proportionality principle
The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons:
It is recognised that there are wide variations in the structure of the aquaculture in the Member States and consequently differences in the tasks of the national authorities in connection with collecting and compiling data on the volume and value of aquaculture products. Accordingly the national authorities may employ such data collection techniques as are appropriate to the structure and size of their aquaculture sector. In accordance with the principle of proportionality this Regulation is confined to the minimum required to achieve this objective and does not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose.
Although the financial and administrative burden on the national authorities will be greater than under the current legislation, appropriate use by the national authorities of the sampling procedures allowed under this proposal should limit this added burden.
- Choice of instruments
Proposed instrument: Regulation.
Other means would not be adequate for the following reasons:
Selection of the appropriate category of EP/Council act depends on the goal of the legislation. Given the information needs at European level, the trend for Community statistics has been to use Regulations rather than Directives for basic acts. A Regulation is preferable because it lays down the same law throughout the Community, leaving the Member States with no power to apply it incompletely or selectively; it is directly applicable, which means that there is no need to transpose it into national law. By contrast, Directives aim at harmonising national laws. They impose binding objectives on Member States but leave the national authorities the choice of how to attain the objectives agreed upon at the Community level; they must be transposed into national law. Use of a Regulation is in line with other statistical legal acts which have been adopted since 1997.
4)
The proposal has no implication for the Community budget.
- Simulation, pilot phase and transitory period
A transitional period will be proposed.
- Simplification
The proposal does not simplify the existing legislation but extends it.
However, the proposal does permit use of sampling procedures to limit the additional workload on the national authorities and also provides for granting derogations from those parts of the data collection process causing particular problems for the national authorities.
The proposal also has the same scope and is largely compatible with the FISHSTAT AQ aquaculture questionnaire of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, a questionnaire which a number of EU Member States already complete.
The proposal is included in the Commission's Work and Legislative Programme under the reference number 2006/ESTAT/012.
- Repeal of existing legislation
Adoption of the proposal will lead to the repeal of existing legislation.
- European Economic Area
The proposal is of EEA relevance and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area.