EU and Iceland clash over mackerel quota

Barroso says that that EU is considering “all possible measures” to resolve problem.

The European Union is ready to take action against Iceland in a dispute over mackerel fishing, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, has said.

After a meeting with Sigmundur Davíd Gunnlaugsson, Iceland’s prime minister, on Tuesday (16 July), Barroso said the EU is considering “all possible measures” to resolve the problem.

Gunnlaugsson struck a defiant tone after the meeting with Barroso, despite warnings that the Commission is ready to take action by the end of the month. He said World Trade Organization rules made it “unlikely” that the EU would impose sanctions on Iceland.

Click Here: kanken kids cheap

In 2009, Iceland decided unilaterally to increase its mackerel catch in the northeast Atlantic, claiming that the mackerel population had grown after fish began migrating north as the water there became warmer.

After the issue was discussed at a meeting of fisheries ministers in Brussels on Monday (15 July), Maria Damanaki, the European commissioner for fisheries, said the EU would decide by the end of the month whether to start infringement action.

A decision will also be taken by the end of the month on ramping up action against the Faroe Islands for their continued fishing of herring. The EU has already sent a letter of formal notice to the islands, the first step in infringement proceedings.

Damanaki said neither country was willing to compromise, and “we cannot permit unilateral actions that can destroy the stock which are there because of the efforts of the EU and our fishermen”.

She added: “We cannot lose this fishing year because of Iceland and the Faroe Islands; we cannot wait until next year.”