May 12th, 2009

NORTH ATLANTIC PRODUCERS ORGANIZATION BECAME THE MEMBER OF EUROPECHE PRESS RELEASE: "EU/Fish: EUROPECHE STRENGTHENS ITS REPRESENTATION IN THE EU."

Europêche members met in General Assembly on 12 May 2009 to decide on the applications for membership received from four new organizations in the sea-fishing sector, the Polish Organisation of North-Atlantic Producers (PAOP) and three Italian cooperative organizations: AGCI-Agrital, LEGAPESCA and FEDERCOOPESCA.

  
The applications for affiliation of these new members, which are already active on the Community scene, were accepted. In so doing Europêche strengthens its geographic, political, and professional representativity. 

Europêche now counts 19 member organizations from 13 different Member States.

Concerned at the delay by fishing industry professionals in the new Member States in seeking representation at Community level (a phenomenon that affects most sectors of activity in Europe), Europêche, together with its European social partner, the ETF, is launching a community project in the new Member States and candidate countries aimed at integrating them into the Brussels decision-making process. "Social dialogue is part of the acquis communautaire," said Niels Wichmann, President of Europêche, who expressed the hope that representatives of the sector from Slovenia, Cyprus, Estonia and other Baltic countries will soon be able to come to defend their positions in Europêche working meetings alongside their European counterparts.

Readers are reminded that Europêche is recognized as a European employers’ and workers’ association (DG EMPL, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities), as well as an official talking partner of DG Mare. As such, it sits on the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture.

  
Taking advantage of this expansion, the Europêche will shortly be totally reworked to better meet the expectations of its visitors.