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414 V. Borsellino et al.

In 2002, at the end of this initiative, the Commission published a document for the Council and
Parliament concerning the conservation and management of resources in the Mediterranean
Sea, taking into account the details and application of the CFP in the Mediterranean (COM
(2002) 535 def.) [5]. In the same year, Parliament adopted a resolution in which it called for

a fisheries policy based on rational and responsible management of stock, based on the protection of fish stocks
and the protection of the way of life of those who traditionally depend on the sea. It must also safeguard the
fundamental principal from which these aims derive, that of relative stability; a policy which promotes a fair and
just system of distributing fish resources according to the specific needs of the regions that depend on fishing, a
policy which is impartial and stable, workable and submitted to community checks.

The above makes clear the new aims of the EU in modifying the current CFP, and an admission
of the incapability of the previous norms in offering economic sustainability to the fishing
sector or to effectively halt the fall in community fish stock, which has currently exceeded
biological safety limits.

Regarding the Commission’s proposal to end public subsidies for the fleet, Commissioner
Fischler observed that instead of protecting the fleet, subsides actually weaken it because
they help maintain fishing capacity at a level which implies exploitation of fish stock beyond
their means.

The only aspect that the Commission does not address is that regarding the organization
of the market, because it believes that the growing demand for fish and higher prices due
to scarcity of the product will protect fishermen from the effects of stock reduction. The
CFP reform was launched during the Agriculture and Fisheries Council held in Brussels on
16–20 December 2002; the new measures, which took effect from 1 January 2003, concern
conservation and structural policies. The aims of the CFP were re-examined and redirected
towards the sustainable exploitation of living marine resources, based on expert scientific
advice and adopting a precautionary approach to fishery management on one hand, and
sustainable fish farming on the other. Regulations 2369/2002, 2370/2002, and 2371/2002
form the main normative tools on which the reforms are based. Regulation 2369/2002,
which modifies CE 2792/99, concerns structural policy and guarantees coherency between
this and resource protection policy. One innovative measure is that found in 2370/2002,
which institutes emergency community measures for the dismantling of fishing fleets during
the period 2003–2006, should fisheries be hit by plans to replenish stock, thereby limiting
fishing.

Regulation 2371/2002, concerning conservation and sustainable exploitation of fish-
ing resources within the CFP, proposes a series of measures guaranteeing the sustainable
exploitation of living aquatic resources from an economic, environmental, and social point
of view.

On the burning issue of conservation and sustainability of fishing resources, the Council
has adopted as a priority a long-term recovery plan regarding the fishing of stocks that have
exceeded their biological safety limits, and a long-term precautionary approach management
plan, to guarantee the sustainable exploitation of resources and to keep stock within their
biological safety limits. These plans will include long-term objectives for fishing and will
avoid sudden modifications to fishing limitations (TAC) from one year to another, allowing
fishermen to plan their activities more accurately.

A new positive point of these reforms is the steps it takes towards involving the sector in
the work of the CFP, with creation of the Regional Advisory Councils (RAC). Community
policy regarding the Mediterranean Sea, which to date has been only partially considered,
is reassessed, taking into consideration the necessary economic, environmental, and social
equilibrium. The Commission has thus presented a discussion paper on the problems of Mare
Nostrum, which will become the basis for an Action Plan for the Mediterranean.