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News Releases
Better future for fish stocks
Brussels, 30 May 2013. After two years of negotiation, the European Parliament and Fisheries Council finally reached an agreement on the framework of a reformed Common Fisheries Policy. It includes a deal on rebuilding fish stocks, ending overfishing by 2015, and reducing by-catch and discarding.
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Tighten marine litter targets
Berlin, 10th April 2013. Civil society organisations from across the EU are today calling on EU Member States to up their level of ambition and tighten marine litter reduction targets with the aim of ending the marine litter problem within a generation.
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MSP needs environmental core
Brussels, 14th March 2013. Environmental NGOs have welcomed the proposal for a Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) and Coastal Management as a tool to help achieve sustainable maritime development, but want to ensure that crucial environmental commitments are not traded off against sectoral ones in the process.
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MEPs act to save our fish
Brussels, 6th February 2013. The European Parliament has achieved a historic vote in favour of several crucial reforms to the Common Fisheries Policy. Now the challenge will be getting EU ministers onboard to ensure these encouraging decisions are written into European law.
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Ministers ignore advice
Brussels, 20th December 2012. In their annual marathon meeting on next year’s fishing quota, EU Fisheries ministers have yet again fixed fishing limits for many fish stocks higher than proposed by the European Commission, which largely followed scientific advice.
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Early Christmas for Fisheries
Brussels, 18th December 2012. Christmas has come early this year for European fish stocks as the European Parliament’s fisheries committee voted on the most important file of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. On the key topics such as restoring fish stocks to healthy levels, setting fishing limits according to scientific advice, and ending discards, MEPs have expressed their will to lead European fish stocks to a more sustainable future.
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States miss marine milestone
Brussels, 17th October 2012. 12 out of 22 EU Member States have failed to meet a crucial deadline for reporting requirements under the Marine Directive, a Commission scorecard has detailed today. This disappointing finding puts in question whether European states are interested in saving our already fragile marine environment.
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Limits to growth ignored
Limassol, 8th October 2012. EU ministers have signed a Declaration today on a Marine and Maritime Agenda for growth and jobs. Seas at Risk and 18 other environmental NGOs are concerned that such plans will come at the expense of the marine environment and have called on ministers to respect the ‘limits to blue growth’.
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EU action on bags
Brussels, 3rd July 2012. European Green groups GAIA, EEB and Seas At Risk have called on the European Commission to ban single-use plastic bags on the occasion of International bag-free day. A year after a public consultation on the topic, still no plan has been set out for an EU approach.
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Be ambitious on marine litter
Brussels, 2nd July 2012. Marking International bag free-day, over 30 NGOs are making a final call to EU Environment ministers ahead of the July 15 deadline for setting marine litter targets, as required under EU law. In an open letter sent to all 27 ministers, the NGOs are calling for ambitious and significant reduction targets for 2020.
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CFP reform failure
Brussels, 13th June 2012. After an 18 hour negotiation marathon a scandalous lack of ambition has led ministers to backtrack on previous commitments and sanction another decade of overfishing, environmental destruction, and the loss of fisher jobs and livelihoods.
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50% marine litter cut demand
The Hague, 16th April 2012. NGOs leading the fight against marine litter and plastic pollution in Europe are calling on European countries to set a 50% reduction target ahead of the July deadline this year when states are required to finalise their marine environmental targets for 2020.
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Gas leak shows plan falls short
Brussels, 2nd April 2012. A gas leak that erupted at the Elgin offshore installation in UK waters last week has highlighted once again the risky business of offshore drilling. It also highlights the weakness in the proposed EU regulation on offshore activities not to include the development of an independent EU wide inspection agency.
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Slow steaming benefits
London, 28th February 2012. Speed controls on shipping could save billions in lower ship fuel bills, cut air pollution and enable the shipping industry to play a full part in tackling climate change according to a new report.
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EU citizens support bag ban
Brussels, 17th January 2012. Over 70% of respondents to a European Commission public consultation have voted in favour of a ban on the distribution of plastic bags. Green groups Seas At Risk and EEB say the Commission should now act on this overwhelming support and implement a ban across Europe.
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Experts advise on ML reduction
Brussels, 12th January 2012. A group of experts on marine litter has advised EU countries on setting reduction targets for marine litter for 2020. Member States now have 6 months to act on this advice and set ambitious reduction targets in order to combat this growing problem.
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