Green MEP from Sweden. First vice chair of the fisheries committee, substitute member in committees ENVI and FEMM. Political scientist with a great interest in Russia, development, gender and security policy.

Before becoming a member of the European parliament, Mrs Engström worked as a gender coordinator and with development support directed towards Russia, Belarus, Georgia and Eastern Europe.

Her great interest and knowledge in development issues brought her close to African green partners mainly in Western Africa.

Mrs Engström was the rapporteur for the Sustainable management of EU external fishing fleet, which addresses the external dimension of the Common fisheries reform, issues of great importance to the long-term sustainability and fairness of EU-fisheries agreements, joint ventures and charter agreements with third countries.

Mrs Engström is also the gender coordinator in the committee ENVI, where her main focus is the issues on climate justice and gender mainstreaming of environmental and health legislation.

Speech Summary

Mrs. Linnea Engström will be addressing the importance of transparency in fisheries and the digital register that is going to be set up as a requirement in the new SMEFF-regulation (Sustainable Management of External Fishing Fleets), of which she was a rapporteur.

For many years, European Union (EU) ship-owners have complained about difficulties competing with vessels from certain other countries, in particular some East Asian ones such as China and Korea. It is certainly true that many other countries, including (but not only) flags of non-compliance have one or more of lower tax levels, lower standards and requirements for wages, labor conditions, environmental protection, fisheries management measures with which to comply.

EU-owned vessels leave the EU vessel register to fly the flags of other, sometimes less demanding countries. That is not a good solution as the EU then loses all responsibility for the behavior of those vessels, while the fish still comes back to the EU to be consumed.

The Commission’s proposal on sustainable management of the EU external fishing fleet (SMEFF) was a good base to begin with, for the first time bringing together all types of activities outside EU waters: partnership agreements, private agreements, RFMO fishing and high seas fishing.

Mrs. Engström’s presentation will take a closer look at latest developments on SMEFF, and what it intends to accomplish in regard to further regulations on fish, such as tuna being imported within the European Union.