Fisheries Policy of the European Union Towards African Countries: the Cases of Mauritania and Namibia

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Fisheries Policy of the European Union Towards African Countries: the Cases of Mauritania and Namibia FISHERIES POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TOWARDS AFRICAN COUNTRIES: THE CASES OF MAURITANIA AND NAMIBIA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ÖZGE BOZKUŞ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS JANUARY 2015 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Meliha B. ALTUNIŞIK Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin BAĞCI Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Fatih TAYFUR Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şule GÜNEŞ (METU, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Fatih TAYFUR (METU, IR) Asst. Prof. Serkan KÜÇÜKŞENEL (METU, ECON) PLAGIARISM I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Özge BOZKUŞ Signature : iii ABSTRACT FISHERIES POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TOWARDS AFRICAN COUNTRIES: THE CASES OF MAURITANIA AND NAMIBIA Bozkuş, Özge M.Sc., Department of International Relations Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Fatih Tayfur January 2015, 192 pages This thesis analyses the fisheries agreements of the European Union (EU) with African countries. The goal of this study is to find an answer to the following question: Have the fisheries agreements between the European Union and African countries created a win-win situation? Ensuring EU access to the world's main fishing zones and supplying fish to EU’s market became the main goals of the EU. Additionally, the EU aimed to contribute to the sustainable development of third states’ fisheries. However, due to the over-exploitation of fish stocks in African region by European fishermen, the lack of fish supply to African markets, the low level of payment for fishing rights in comparison to the value of fish caught by the European fishermen in the Exclusive Economic Zones of African countries as well as due to the low level of employment and value added created for African states, these agreements could not create a win-win situation with regards to African states. The outcomes of the cases of Mauritania and Namibia also supported the presumption that EU’s Fisheries Agreements favour the interests of the European fisheries stakeholders and powerful coastal states of the Union, rather than serving long term interests of both the EU and African countries at the same time. Keywords: European Union, Common Fisheries Policy, External Fisheries Relations, Fisheries Agreements, African Countries iv ÖZ AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ’NİN AFRİKA ÜLKELERİNE YÖNELİK BALIKÇILIK POLİTİKASI: MORİTANYA VE NAMİBYA ÖRNEKLERİ Bozkuş, Özge Yüksek Lisans, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. M. Fatih Tayfur Ocak 2015, 192 sayfa Bu tez Avrupa Birliği’nin Afrika ülkeleri ile balıkçılık anlaşmalarını analiz etmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı Avrupa Birliği ile Afrika ülkeleri arasındaki balıkçılık anlaşmalarının kazan-kazan durumu yaratıp yaratmadığı sorusuna cevap bulmaktır. AB’nin başlıca amaçları yeryüzünün önemli balıkçılık bölgelerine AB’nin erişimini garanti altına almak ve AB pazarına balık arzını sağlamaktır. AB, ayrıca, üçüncü ülkelerin balıkçılığının sürdürülebilir gelişimine katkıda bulunmayı amaçlamıştır. Fakat Avrupalı balıkçılar tarafından Afrika bölgesindeki balık stoklarının aşırı avlanması, Afrika pazarına balık arzının yetersiz kalması, avlanma hakkı için yapılan ödemenin Afrika ülkelerinin Münhasır Ekonomik Bölgelerinde Avrupalı balıkçılar tarafından avlanan balıkların değeri ile karşılaştırıldığında çok az olması, ayrıca Afrika ülkelerinde yaratılan istihdam ve katma değerin düşük düzeyde olması sebepleriyle söz konusu anlaşmalar Afrika ülkeleri açısından kazan-kazan durumu oluşturamamıştır. Moritanya ve Namibya örneklerinden elde edilen sonuçlar AB'nin Balıkçılık Anlaşmalarının, aynı zamanda hem AB’nin hem de Afrika ülkelerinin uzun vadeli çıkarlarına hizmet etmek yerine balıkçılık sektöründeki Avrupalı paydaşların ve Birliğin güçlü Kıyı Devletlerinin çıkarlarını koruduğu yönündeki varsayımı desteklemektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Avrupa Birliği, Ortak Balıkçılık Politikası, Uluslararası Balıkçılık İlişkileri, Balıkçılık Anlaşmaları, Afrika Ülkeleri v DEDICATION To My Beloved Parents vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express his deepest gratitude to his supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Fatih Tayfur for his guidance, advice, criticism, encouragements and insight throughout the research. The author would also like to thank the members of the thesis committee: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şule Güneş and Asst. Prof. Serkan Küçükşenel The author is also more than grateful to those who accepted her interview requests and answered her questions with patience. Last, but not least, the author wants to express her indebtedness to her family, who have generously supported her in every aspect of her life and pushed her to continue searching for what is the best for her life. Special thanks are reserved for Asuman Ünal and Özden Bozkuş for their constant support. It is known very well that this thesis could not have been completed without their encouragement. The financial support of TÜBİTAK throughout the author’s master’s study is gratefully acknowledged. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ............................................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ iv ÖZ ................................................................................................................................. v DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Methodology of the Thesis ............................................................................ 7 1.2 Organisation of the Chapters ....................................................................... 12 2. EVOLUTION OF THE EXTERNAL DIMENSION OF EUROPEAN COMMON FISHERIES POLICY ................................................................................................. 14 2.1 Fishing Activities of the Members in African Waters from Colonial Times ..................................................................................................................... 15 2.2 The Evolution of External Fisheries Policy of the EU ................................ 29 3. POSITIONS OF MEMBER STATES ON FISHERIES POLICIES INSIDE THE EUROPEAN UNION ................................................................................................. 41 3.1 Factors for the Formation of Structural and Conservation Policies ............ 42 3.2 Structural Policy Formation and the Situation of Fish Stocks within the EU Waters ..................................................................................................................... 46 3.3 Conservation Policy: Distribution of Total Allowable Catches through Relative Stability Method ....................................................................................... 54 4. POSITIONS OF MEMBER STATES ON FISHERIES POLICIES TOWARDS OTHER REGIONS .................................................................................................... 64 4.3 First Generation Agreements (Cash-for-Access) ........................................ 67 viii 4.2 Second Generation Agreements (Joint-Venture) ........................................ 79 4.3 Third Generation Agreements (Fisheries Partnership Agreements) ........... 81 4.3.1 ‘Friends of Fishing’ vs. ‘Friends of Fish’ ............................................ 82 4.3.2 ‘Green Paper on the Future of the Common Fisheries Policy’ ............ 84 a. Term of Sustainable Fisheries in the EU’s Agreements ...................... 85 b. Term of Development in the EU’s Agreements ................................... 87 4.3.3 ‘Special Report No 3/2001 Concerning the Commission’s Management of the International Fisheries Agreements’ ......................................................... 93 4.3.4 ‘Communication on the Community Action Plan for the Eradication of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing’ .................................................... 94 4.3.5 ‘Communication from the Commission on an Integrated Framework for Fisheries Partnership Agreements with Third Countries’ ............................. 95 4.3.6 ‘Conclusion on a Communication on an Integrated Framework for Fisheries
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