Subject: Possible compensation for the four Spanish pole-and-line tuna vessels caught up in the Senegalese blockade
Since early 2022, four Spanish pole-and-line tuna vessels have been forcibly detained in Senegal as a result of the Senegalese Government’s failure to uphold its fisheries agreement with the EU. The fact that, owing to the Commission’s tardy response, they were not able to fish for months has cost them dearly and, as a consequence, although they now have the licences they need, they cannot go back to work.
The report recently published by Parliament’s legal services confirmed that this state of affairs is a case of force majeure, which means that the vessels are entitled to compensation on the grounds that they experienced an extraordinary interruption to their activities. If Spain is to access those funds, the Commission needs to unblock them by granting authorisation for their use.
Therefore:
In the light of the report published by Parliament’s legal service, does the Commission plan to assess or take account of the report and give the green light to the awarding of compensation to the four vessels?
Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius on behalf of the European Commission (10 August 2022)
The Commission is fully aware and deeply regrets the difficulties encountered by the EU fleet, and in particular by pole-and-line tuna vessels in the context of the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Senegal.
Numerous meetings have been held, both at technical and political levels, between the Commission, the EU Delegation in Dakar and the Senegalese authorities to find solutions that would allow pole-and-line vessels to resume their activities. As a result of these efforts, all fishing vessels have now finally received their fishing authorisations.
The report of Parliament’s legal service has not been shared with the Commission and we cannot make any assessment of the analysis therein.
However, the Commission services are analysing and looking into the feasibility of granting compensations to the EU fleet prevented to fish because of the late issuance of the fishing authorisations.