Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 (repealed)Show full title

[F1 1. Implementation of measures relating to fishing fleet activities (Title II)] U.K.

[F1 1.0. Age of vessels U.K.

For the purpose of this Regulation, the age of a vessel is a whole number defined as the difference between the year of the managing authority's decision to grant a premium or aid and the year of entry into service as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86.]

1.1. Permanent withdrawal (Article 7(3)) U.K.

(a)

Permanent withdrawal may concern only vessels which have carried out a fishing activity for at least 75 days at sea in each of the two periods of 12 months preceding the date of the application for permanent withdrawal or, as the case may be, a fishing activity for at least 80 % of the number of days at sea permitted by current national regulations for the vessel concerned.

In the Baltic Sea the number of 75 days shall be reduced to:

• 60 for vessels registered in ports situated north of parallel 59°30′N,

• 40 for vessels registered in ports situated north of parallel 59°30′N and fishing for salmon;

(b)

the following conditions must be met:

(i)

prior to its permanent withdrawal, the vessel must be registered in the fishing vessel register of the Community;

(ii)

the vessel must be operational at the time the decision is taken to grant the premium;

(iii)

after permanent withdrawal, the fishing licence must be cancelled and the vessel declared permanently deleted from the fishing vessel register of the Community;

(iv)

in the event of permanent transfer to a third country, the vessel must be registered in the register of the third country without delay and may never return to Community waters;

(c)

if a vessel is lost between the date of the decision to grant the premium and the actual date of permanent withdrawal, the management authority shall make a financial correction for the amount of the compensation paid by the insurance;

(d)

no public aid within the meaning of Article 7 may be paid for a vessel transferred to a third country to replace a lost vessel belonging to a joint enterprise within the meaning of Article 8.

1.2. Joint enterprises (Article 8) U.K.

(a)

In addition to the conditions for the permanent transfer of a vessel to a third country within the meaning of Article 7(3)(b) and point 1.1 of this Annex, vessels, transferred within the framework of joint enterprises, must meet the following conditions:

(i)

they must have been operating for at least the last five years, under the flag of a Member State of the Community:

• in Community waters,

• and/or in the waters of a third country either under a fisheries agreement with the Community or under another agreement,

• and/or in international waters where fisheries are ruled by an international Convention;

(ii)

they must, within six months of the date of the decision to grant the premium, be fitted out with the technical equipment needed to operate in the waters of the third country under the terms of the fishing authorisation issued by the authorities of the third country; they must comply with the Community safety regulations and be adequately insured as decided by the management authority; costs associated with such a fitting, if any, are not eligible for a Community aid;

(b)

when the application for the premium for joint enterprises is lodged, beneficiaries must provide the management authority with the following information:

(i)

a description of the vessel, including, in particular, the internal number, registration number, tonnage, power and year of entry into service;

(ii)

during the last five years: service and activity of the vessel (and conditions under which the activity was carried on); indication of fishing zones (Community waters/other); any previous Community, national or regional aid received;

(iii)

proof of the project's financial viability, including, in particular:

• a financing plan showing the contributions of the different shareholders in cash and in kind; level of contribution of Community/third country partners; proportion of the premium provided for in Article 7(5)(b), which is to be invested in cash in the capital of the joint enterprise,

• an activity plan covering at least five years, showing, in particular, fishing zones, places of landing and final destination of catches;

(iv)

a copy of the insurance contract;

(c)

the following conditions must be met by the beneficiary during a period of five years from the transfer of ownership of the vessel to the joint enterprise:

(i)

any change in the conditions under which the vessel is operated (particularly change of partner, change in the share capital of the joint enterprise, change of flag, change of fishing zone), within the limits of the conditions referred to in Article 8(2), shall be subject to prior authorisation by the management authority;

(ii)

a vessel lost through shipwreck must be replaced by an equivalent vessel within one year of the shipwreck;

(d)

if the conditions at (a) and (b) are not fulfilled when the application for the premium for joint enterprises is lodged, the public aid shall be restricted to the premium for permanent transfer referred to in Article 7(5)(c);

(e)

without prejudice to Articles 29(4) and 38 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, the management authority shall carry out a financial correction on the difference between the premium for joint enterprise and the premium for permanent transfer of the same vessel (hereinafter called ‘difference’), in the following cases:

(i)

if the beneficiary notifies to the management authority a change in operating conditions that lead to non-compliance with the conditions referred to in Article 8(2) of this Regulation, including the sale of the vessel, the transfer of holding by the Community partner or the retirement of the Community shipowner in the joint enterprise the financial correction shall be equal to part of the amount of the difference; this part shall be calculated pro rata temporis over the period of five years;

(ii)

if during a control it is found that the conditions provided for in Article 8(2) of this Regulation and point (c) of this paragraph are not complied with, the financial correction shall be equal to the difference;

(iii)

if the beneficiary fails to provide the activity reports provided for in Article 8(5) of this Regulation after having been served notice by the management authority, the financial correction shall be equal to part of the amount of the difference; this part shall be calculated pro rata temporis over the period of five years;

(iv)

if the vessel is lost and not replaced, the financial correction shall be equal to part of the amount of the difference; this part shall be calculated pro rata temporis over the period of five years.

[F1 1.3. Fleet renewal (Article 9) U.K.

(a)

Vessels must be built to comply with the Regulations and Directives governing hygiene, safety, health, product quality and working conditions and the Community provisions concerning the measurement of vessels and the monitoring of fishing activities.

(b)

Vessels shall be entered in the Community fishing fleet register.

(c)

Without prejudice to Article 12(3)(d), the transfer of ownership of a fishing vessel shall not give rise to Community aid.

1.4. Fishing Vessels equipment and modernisation (Article 9) U.K.

(a)

[F2 Vessels must have been registered in the fishing vessels register of the Community for at least five years, except for equipment in vessel monitoring systems or in acoustic deterrent devices. Changes in vessel characteristics must be communicated to this register and the vessels must be measured in accordance with Community provisions, when they are modernised.]

(b)

Investments should relate to:

(i)

the rationalisation of fishing operations by the use of more selective or low impact fishing technologies and methods on board in order to avoid undesirable by-catches, other than those provided for in Community law,

and/or

(ii)

improvement of the quality and safety of products caught and preserved on board, the use of more selective fishing techniques and of better preserving techniques and the implementation of legal and regulatory provisions regarding health,

and/or

(iii)

[F2 improvement of working and safety conditions,

and/or]

(iv)

[F3 the purchase of acoustic deterrent devices for the purpose of Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 of 26 April 2004 laying down measures concerning incidental catches of cetaceans in fisheries (1) .]

[F2 Without prejudice to Article 16(2), the replacement of fishing gear shall not be considered eligible expenditure, except if the vessel is subject to a recovery plan and is required to end its participation in the fishery concerned and fish for other species with different fishing gear. In this case, the Commission may decide that the first replacement of fishing gear, where fishing possibilities are significantly reduced by a recovery plan, may be considered as eligible expenditure.] ]

Textual Amendments

F2 Substituted by Council Regulation (EC) No 1421/2004 of 19 July 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector.

F3 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 1421/2004 of 19 July 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector.

[F4 1.5. Socio-economic measures (Article 12) U.K.

Measures to support the training of fishermen or the diversification of their activities outside marine fisheries must contribute to a reduction of the fishing effort developed by the beneficiaries even if they continue fishing on a part-time basis.]

Textual Amendments

F4 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 2369/2002 of 20 December 2002 amending Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Council Regulation (EC) No 2369/2002 of 20 December 2002 amending Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector.

(1)

[F1 [F3 OJ L 150, 30.4.2004, p. 12 .] ]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Council Regulation (EC) No 2369/2002 of 20 December 2002 amending Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector.

F3 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 1421/2004 of 19 July 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector.