The European Court of Justice has fined France €20 million for allowing fishermen to catch and sell fish that are smaller than what is allowed under EU regulations.Full article
In addition France must pay €57.8 million every six months until it complies with Brussels’ rules, the Luxembourg court ruled on Tuesday (12 July).
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In 1991 the Court had already found that France had infringed Community law by not carrying out controls ensuring compliance with Community measures for fishery conservation.
During inspections of French ports 11 years later, the Commission found that France was still not complying fully with its obligations. Undersized fish were offered for sale and Paris had maintained a lax attitude to infringements.
The Commission asked the Court of Justice for a declaration that France had failed to fulfil its obligation to comply with the 1991 judgment.
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The record fine did not hit headlines in the French media but France's National Fisheries Committee (CNPMEM) reacted angrily.
"Tonnes upon tonnes of small fish are unloaded in Spain and Portugal. There is fishing over and above the quotas in Scotland, Britain and elsewhere, and you never hear anything about it. People always point the finger at France", Pierre-Georges Dachicourt said on behalf of the organisation, according to France Info radio.
The French government took note of the ECJ’s decision and said in a statement it intended to respect EU rules.
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Is anyone else starting to think that the reason so many French leaders tend to approve of all those EU rules is because, in their heart of hearts, they believe that EU rules do not apply to France unless France wants them to apply to France? Sometimes it sure looks that way.
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