Struan Stevenson MEP

Struan Stevenson, the Conservative spokesman for fisheries in the European Parliament, has commented on today’s EU fishing quota meeting.

Ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss the quotas for next year, following proposals by the European Commission to cut the quota on cod, herring, haddock and whiting by 25%.  A 7% increase in North Sea sole will also be discussed.

Straun commented: “Fishermen dread this annual meeting.  In a matter of hours, the fate of British fishermen could be sealed in a misguided effort to preserve stocks through micro-management from Brussels.

“A decade of failed fisheries policies has only served to destroy thousands of jobs across the fishing industry, yet fish stocks continue to plummet.

Discarding fish during a food crisis, just to appease Brussels desk-jockeys, is morally unjust.

Struan Stevenson

“The introduction of a kilowatt-day system – a highly complex method of linking engine power to the number of hours fished – on top of the other plethora of controls already in place will not provide the solution to our difficulties.

“The best way for the EU to show it is serious about protecting fish stocks would be to ban fish discards immediately so that a million tonnes of fish is not thrown back into the sea.  Discarding fish during a food crisis, just to appease Brussels desk-jockeys, is morally unjust.”

Eric Ollerenshaw, Lancaster and Fleetwood’s Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, has taken his demand for a referendum on the controversial ‘European Union Treaty’, or ‘the Lisbon Treaty’ as it is known in some quarters, straight to the heart of UK decision-making.

Eric was joined in Westminster by between two and three thousand people from across the country, all gathered to protest over the refusal, by the Government, to permit a public vote on the document.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown signed the Treaty in Lisbon back in December. The piece will create an EU President, a more powerful foreign policy chief as well as binning the national veto in some policy areas.

Sovereignty Doubts

In October, the European Scrutiny Committee based at the House of Commons, raised doubts about the safety of key parts of British sovereignty if the new European Union Treaty was to be adopted by the UK.

It is virtually a carbon-copy of the now defunct European Constitution on which we were promised a say.

Eric Ollerenshaw

Eric said: “Gordon Brown is insulting the public by not offering us a vote on this very fishy new Treaty which has some very dangerous consequences for our governance.

“It is virtually a carbon-copy of the now defunct European Constitution on which we were promised a say.

“I was very proud to be at the rally at Westminster to make sure our community’s voice is being heard in the campaign for a referendum on the Treaty.”

Speaking ahead of the Prime Minister signing the renamed EU Constitution tomorrow, Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said:

“Gordon Brown’s signature on the renamed EU Constitution tomorrow will not have the British people’s democratic support. This Treaty didn’t feature in Labour’s or any other party’s election manifesto.

“British voters were promised a referendum on the EU Constitution and just about everyone agrees that this Treaty is in substance the same.

“Gordon Brown said he’d restore trust in politics. He said he’d consult and listen to the people more. Like his other summer promises, those words have turned out to mean nothing.

“Gordon Brown has even managed to turn something as simple as signing the EU Treaty into a national embarrassment. What will other EU leaders think of a Prime Minister who dithers for a week about whether he dares be photographed putting pen to paper? Does he think that other European prime ministers don’t have diary commitments too? Instead of leadership we have indecision, gutlessness and broken election promises. Britain deserves better.”