Some days it is hard to fathom how the EU really works and just how the ‘rules’ are supposed to apply. Take two examples in recent days, the fishing industry and Polish shipyards.
In Ireland today, the Irish Times reports that Fisheries minister Tony Killeen believes that “Ireland’s case for emergency EU aid for the fishing industry would be “undermined” by provision of exchequer funding” and that, “Economic realities” would rule out Government support for the ailing sector.
The Times writes that Killeen “represented Ireland at this week’s EU fisheries council where a €600 million emergency aid package was agreed for vessel owners “hardest hit” by the current fuel price crisis. However, the money would not be available until next year”.
The Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) proposed “immediate action at home, with exchequer funding if necessary”.
So why do we have to wait when there is a clear crisis in Irish fishing, the latest blow being the increasing price of diesel?
But while the EU’s fishing industry, and Ireland in particular is being told that it has to wait for aid, as trawler owners run increasingly into debt a different message is being sent to the ship building industry.
A variety of news outlets are reporting today on the decision to give extra time to Poland’s shipyards to repay state aid loans.
The Guardian said, “The European Commission gave Poland a last chance on Wednesday to present new plans by September for overhauling its historic shipyards, and avoid a huge state aid repayment that would force them into bankruptcy”.
The state-owned Gdynia and Szczecin and the privatised Gdansk yards must repay state aid of €2.3 billion unless their new restructuring programmes are deemed to comply with EU competition rules. Their deadline is 12th September
The Guardian also reports that, “Under EU competition rules, governments can give financial help to ailing companies only if the cash is accompanied by plans that would make the firms viable in the long term”.
So we have such a plan for the fishing industry, surely the Irish government can act now, as Sinn Fein’s Martin Ferris said in a statement yesterday “The fact that the funding will not become available until next year means that it will be too late for the many fishermen in this country”.
Is this what more EU efficiency means – doing too little, too late. Can we not safe guard fishing jobs and shipbuilding ones at the same time?
