Liz Lynne

EU AFFIRMS COMMITMENT AGAINST WHALING BUT GOVERNMENTS NEED TO ACT

A Liberal Democrat Euro MP has welcomed an EU statement on action to protect whales, but claims that Member State governments need to coordinate more if the prospect of commercial whaling is to be avoided.

In the answer to a question tabled by Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas affirms the EU's commitment to the protection of whales and says that the Habitats Directive and Wildlife Trade Regulation guarantee this, whilst admitting a greater say could be had if the EU became a full member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Liz Lynne, MEP for the West Midlands region, thinks a unified European voice would strengthen the cause of the conservationists within the IWC, and help to ensure that the possibility of a resumption of commercial whaling, brought closer by a 2006 IWC resolution, does not become reality.

Liz Lynne said:

"I am naturally pleased that the Commissioner has reaffirmed Europe's commitment to wildlife protection but the implications for whaling in particular highlight the need for greater cooperation.

"While the EU institutions are demonstrating a commitment to conservation, it is the national governments who are dragging their heels on giving the EU a strong unified voice on the protection of whales. This unified voice could have much more influence on wavering IWC members in any future vote on commercial whaling."

The 2006 IWC resolution in favour of a resumption of commercial whaling passed by a majority of one, with Denmark voting with pro-whaling countries such as Japan. This raises the issue as a serious possibility in the future, for the first time since the 1986 ban, although any vote on actual resumption of commercial whaling would require 75% of IWC members to be in favour.

Liz added:

"While the passing of the resolution was a huge reality check for conservationists, all EU countries apart from one voted against the 2006 IWC resolution, so most of us already agree on this issue. With more EU Member States having recently joined the IWC, the 'anti-whalers' are in majority again, but we cannot afford to be complacent.

"The UK and other governments must push for greater cooperation on whaling and other conservation issues. EU membership of the IWC would help achieve better protection of these endangered species."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

On the 29th of June, Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament tabled the following question and received the answer below on the 26th of September:

What attempts did the Commission make to secure an agreement on a Community position regarding the resumption of commercial whaling in advance of the most recent meeting of the International Whaling Commission, and why were these not successful?

Given the EU's longstanding opposition to the resumption of commercial whaling, what were the consequences of the disunity amongst EU Member States for the influence that the Community was able to exert and on the outcome of specific votes?

Was Denmark the only EU Member State to support the resumption of commercial whaling, and did any others abstain on the issue?

What efforts are now being made by the Commission to ensure that, in future, EU Member States are united in support of a common position at the IWC?

E-3361/07EN

Answer given by Mr Dimas

on behalf of the Commission

In response to the questions raised by the Honourable Member in relation to the last annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) the Commission would like to make the following observations.

The European Community is strongly committed to the protection of whales and has already acted, inter alia, under the Habitats Directive[1] and the Wildlife Trade Regulation[2] to guarantee a high level of protection of whales.

It is worth recalling that the European Community is not a member of the IWC because this forum is only open to governments. However, the Community has an observer status at the IWC. The Council has not taken up so far the recommendation by the Commission, made in 1992[3], to authorise it to negotiate the full membership of the European Community at the IWC.

At the annual IWC meeting in 2006 the adoption of the St Kitts and Nevis declaration raised serious concerns on the future of the moratorium on commercial whaling. For the first time, the IWC adopted a resolution by a thin majority in support of restarting commercial whaling. For the Commission, this change in the international approach, and the division among EU delegations, called for an urgent reaction at European level. Several Members of the Parliament had written to the Commission expressing similar views after last year's (2006) meeting at IWC. Therefore, in order to strengthen the protection of whales worldwide, the Commission submitted on 31 January 2007 a recommendation under Article 300 of the EC Treaty, proposing to the Council a Community position to support the continuation of the moratorium at the annual meeting of the IWC in May 2007 in Anchorage.

However, the Council unfortunately refused to take any Decision on the basis of the Commission initiative or any other similar action under the Treaty. Accordingly, no Community position was agreed before the annual meeting at Anchorage. One further consequence of the Council not adopting a formal Decision is that the Parliament was not informed in accordance with relevant provisions of the inter-institutional agreement.

Subsequently, despite repeated requests from the Commission, no proper Community coordination was organised at Anchorage. As a result the EU remained divided on most agenda items, with one Member State voting in several cases with the pro-whaling group of countries.

The absence of an agreed Community position limits the influence of the Community on the outcome of the negotiations. Within the EU, it was not possible to ensure that all Member States adopt a coherent position in favour of a high level of protection of whales. In relation to third countries, in the absence of a Community position, the EC is not able at this stage to exercise its worldwide influence in relation to whaling, and is therefore missing the opportunity to make a political counterbalance to the international efforts of pro-whaling nations.

On the positive side, the Commission sent a letter strongly encouraging those Member States not yet members of the IWC to join to support actions aiming at the strict protection of whales. Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus have subsequently joined, as well as the candidate country Croatia, which has facilitated a return at the annual meeting of IWC at Anchorage to a majority against the resumption of commercial whaling.

Finally, the Commission's objective remains to continue working in the months ahead, towards a Council Decision establishing a Community position to ensure a high protection of whales.