Commission Report (2002): Poland

• Progress since the last Regular Report
• Overall assessment
• Conclusion

Chapter 8: Fisheries

Progress since the last Regular Report

Since the last Regular Report, some legislative progress has been made through the entry into force of the Law on Maritime Fisheries: the framework law for the legal introduction of the main instruments necessary for the implementation of the regime on access to waters.

The Department of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), together with the three Regional Inspectorates for Maritime Fisheries and the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA) are responsible for the implementation of the acquis in the area of fisheries. The administrative capacity of the Fisheries Department of the MARD has been strengthened by increasing the staff, and it currently employs thirty persons. A resolution of the Council of Ministers has been adopted, which foresees the assignment of additional posts to the Department of Fisheries in the MARD and the three Regional Inspectorates for Maritime Fisheries.

As regards resource management, inspection and control, the satellite-based fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS) has been introduced through the Law on Maritime Fisheries. Furthermore, the purchase of technical equipment for the coastal stations and installation of hardware and software isunderway.

In the field of structural actions, the fishing vessel register has been introduced by the Law on Maritime Fisheries. Re-measurement of fishing vessels is ongoing. An ``Assessment of the Fishing Effort Required to Fully Utilise the Available Resources in the Polish Maritime Zone'' has been completed.

As regards market policy, no further progress can be reported since the last Regular Report.

No particular development has occurred since the last Regular Report with respect to either State aid or international fisheries agreements.

Overall assessment

Poland has a clear view as to the attribution of competencies between the Fisheries Department of the MARD, the three Regional Inspectorates for Maritime Fisheries and ARMA as regards the implementation of the acquis in the areas of fisheries. This will need to be further reinforced by the forthcoming regulation implementing the Law on Maritime Fisheries, which foresees enhanced co-operation between fisheries inspectors, border guards and the police, and is to improve effectiveness as regards monitoring and control. co-ordination between the Fisheries Department of the MARD and the three Regional Inspectorates for Maritime Fisheries needs to be further strengthened.

While some progress has been made at the central level, administrative capacity at both central and regional levels needs to be considerably strengthened.

The process of adopting legislation related to resource management, inspection and control as well as market policy needs to be considerably speeded up. This is essential in order to allow Poland to set up, well ahead of accession, all the instruments that are necessary for the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and to allow staff to get familiar with these instruments.

In the field of resource management, inspection and control, the regulations implementing the Law on Maritime Fisheries need to be adopted without any delay as they are a pre-condition for the practical introduction of the satellite-based vessel monitoring system (VMS), fishing licences, fishing logbooks and landing declarations and for allowing a comprehensive data collection.

The functions associated with resource management, inspection and control are mainly based on controls carried out by the three Regional Inspectorates for Maritime Fisheries; the collecting and processing of data on catches as well as the preparation of control schemes are carried out by the Fisheries Department of the MARD. The three Regional Inspectorates for Maritime Fisheries currently employ 75 staff, of whom 34 are inspectors. Poland's inspection capacity needs to be strengthened, in particular by upgrading and intensifying inspections and controls.

The setting up of technical facilities for inspection and control needs to be accelerated, in particular by taking the necessary steps to provide a satellite-based vessel monitoring system. For full-scale satellite monitoring in line with the requirements of the acquis, substantial work is needed to set up a fisheries-monitoring centre and to equip all vessels with ``blue boxes''. Poland also needs to introduce first sales notes as well as computerised data retrieval in order to allow for cross-checking data on catches and landed fish. In addition, Poland should start to introduce fisheries statistics that are compatible with EC requirements. Poland needs to substantially improve its inspection capabilities.

As regards structural policy, Poland has yet to adopt the National Development Plan for Fisheries which describes the general objectives of the structural policy for the Polish fisheries sector. The Fisheries Department of the MARD is responsible for drawing up the operational plan for the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). Regarding administrative capacity for dealing with the Structural Funds, ARMA of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been designated as the body responsible for financial management of the FIFG. The establishment of the institutional arrangements required for programming, implementation, financial control, monitoring and evaluation of Structural Fund measures needs to be accelerated.

With regard to the fishing vessel register, work to set up this register in practice should be accelerated. The completion of the re-measurement of fishing vessels and the subsequent finalisation of the separate and exhaustive fishing vessel register required by the acquis remain to be achieved. These actions are a pre-condition for the future management of fleet capacity relating to EC structural aid. Poland should also define fleet capacity objectives with a view to reaching a sustainable balance between available resources and their exploitation.

Concerning market policy, no instruments in conformity with the acquis are yet in place. Poland needs therefore to accelerate the adoption of the Law on the Fisheries Market Organisation as well as its implementing regulations. The adoption of theses legislative acts is crucial for the introduction of the intervention mechanisms (setting up of producers' organisations, collecting and transmitting data concerning the price reference regime as well as data on markets), the common marketing standards, and control at first sale as well as organising first sales.

State aid to the fisheries sector is provided in the form of an exemption on value added tax and excise tax on fuels for fishing vessels, subsidised loans for the purchase and storage of sea fish and subsidising the restocking of rivers with salmon and sea trout.

With regard to international fisheries agreements, Poland has bilateral fisheries agreements with eight countries and is a member of several conventions and regional fisheries organisations.

Conclusion

In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that Poland needed to make further progress in modernising the sector and creating structures which corresponded to the features of the EU fishery industry. Once the problems of access to resources and mutual trading concessions had been solved, no major problems were to be expected.

Since the Opinion, Poland has made some progress, though not consistently so. In particular, progress has been slow in adopting the relevant legislation and more generally implementation and enforcement need further work. Poland has achieved a limited degree of alignment and the administrative capacity needs considerable reinforcement, in particular in the area of control.

Negotiations on this chapter have been provisionally closed. Poland has not requested any transitional arrangements. Poland is partially meeting the commitments it has made in the accession negotiations in this field. It has repeatedly rescheduled its implementation timetable. In addition, delays have occurred in adopting legislation related to resource management, inspection and control, and in the area of market policy. This needs to be urgently addressed.

In order to be ready for membership, Poland will need to give urgent attention and priority to adopting all outstanding legislation, and to the timely setting up of all instruments necessary for the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy. Also, Poland needs to further strengthen its administrative capacity, including with respect to control functions at both central and regional level. The current legislative package for the fisheries sector which has been submitted to the parliament, when adopted, will enhance alignment with the acquis. Efforts now need to be significantly strengthened to ensure that the measures envisaged in the Action Plan are fully achieved, in order to create the basis of an adequate implementing capacity.

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