2009/746/EC: Commission Decision of 9 October 2009 on a Community financial contribution towards Member States’ fisheries control, inspection and surveillance programmes for 2009 (notified under document C(2009) 7592)

This Decision provides for a Community financial contribution for 2009 towards expenditure incurred by Member States for 2009 in implementing the monitoring and control systems applicable to the common fisheries policy (CFP), as referred to in Article 8(a) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006. It establishes the amount of the Community financial contribution for each Member State, the rate of the Community financial contribution and the conditions on which such contribution may be granted.

All payments in respect of which a reimbursement is claimed shall be made by the Member State concerned by 30 June 2013. Payments made by a Member State after that deadline shall not be eligible for reimbursement. Unused budgetary appropriations related to this Decision shall be de-committed at the latest by 31 December 2014.

1 Expenditure incurred on the purchase of, installation and technical assistance for, computer technology and setting up of IT networks in order to allow efficient and secure data exchange in connection with monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries activities, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in Annex I.

2 In case of expenditure under Annex I that is related to vessel monitoring systems (VMS), electronic recording and reporting systems (ERS) or illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, the co-finance rate referred to in paragraph 1 is set at 95 %.

1 Expenditure incurred on the purchase and fitting on board of fishing vessels of automatic localisation devices enabling vessels to be monitored at a distance by a fisheries monitoring centre through a VMS shall qualify for a financial contribution of 95 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits established in Annex II.

2 The financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 shall be limited to EUR 1500 per vessel.

3 In order to qualify for the financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1, automatic localisation devices shall satisfy the requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2244/2003.

Expenditure incurred on the development, purchase, and installation of, as well as technical assistance for, the components necessary for ERS, in order to allow efficient and secure data exchange related to monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries activities, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 95 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in Annex III.

1 Expenditure incurred on the purchase and fitting on board of fishing vessels of ERS devices enabling vessels to record and report electronically to a fisheries monitoring centre data on fisheries activities, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 95 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits established in Annex IV.

2 The financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 shall be limited to EUR 4500 per vessel, without prejudice to paragraph 4.

3 In order to qualify for a financial contribution, ERS devices shall satisfy the requirements established under Regulation (EC) No 1077/2008.

4 In case of devices combining ERS and VMS functions, and fulfilling the requirements laid down in Regulations (EC) No 2244/2003 and (EC) No 1077/2008, the financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be limited to EUR 6000.

Expenditure incurred on pilot projects on new control technologies shall qualify for a financial contribution of 95 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in Annex V.

Expenditure incurred on training and exchange programmes of civil servants responsible for monitoring, control and surveillance tasks in the fisheries area shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in Annex VI.

Expenditure incurred on pilot inspection and observer schemes shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in Annex VII.

Expenditure incurred on implementing a system to assess expenditure incurred in controlling the common fisheries policy shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in Annex VIII.

Expenditure incurred on initiatives including seminar and media tools aimed at enhancing awareness among fishermen and other players such as inspectors, public prosecutors and judges, as well as among the general public, on the need to fight irresponsible and illegal fishing and on the implementation of common fisheries policy rules, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 75 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in Annex IX.

1 Expenditure related to the purchase and modernisation of vessels and aircraft used for inspection and surveillance of fishing activities by the competent authorities of the Member States shall qualify, within the limits laid down in Annex X, for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure incurred by Member States.

2 The financial contribution specified for each Member State in Annex X is calculated on the basis of the utilisation of the concerned vessels and aircraft for inspection and surveillance as a percentage of their total yearly activity, as declared by the Member States.

The total planned expenditure per Member State, the eligible share thereof, and the total maximum Community contribution per Member State for the actions referred to in Articles 3 to 12 are as follows: (in EUR)Member StateExpenditure planned in the national fisheries control programmeEligible expenditure under this DecisionCommunity contributionBelgium805000805000764750Bulgaria352000362000282250Denmark194555219455521667139Germany222000278000220000Estonia706000706000645500Ireland1200009000045000Greece1686700089280004735400Spain17218103147721238190517France263150023330001049750Italy1958992563613403273170Lithuania407900407900378300Malta10034751003475922127Netherlands314500027500002560750Poland497713468713416479Portugal783500759250629038Romania800008000062500Finland920000820000659750Sweden171500017150001541750United Kingdom430979836015552055830Total733194664818690830100000

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, Ireland, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, Romania, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.