Hr. formand, fru kommissær, Den Europæiske Unions internationale fiskeriaftaler vil inden for en overskuelig fremtid komme til at stå i et spændingsforhold mellem modstridende interesser: På den ene side nødvendigheden af at skaffe EU-flåden adgang til havressourcerne i tredjelandsfarvandene og på den anden side mange udviklingslandes vitale interesse i at udnytte deres egne havressourcer bedre til forsyning af deres egen voksende befolkning.
Mr President, Commissioner, for the foreseeable future, the European Union's international fisheries agreements will have to balance two conflicting sets of interests: on the one hand, there is the need to secure access for the EU fleet to the marine resources of third-country waters; on the other, there is the vital interest of developing countries in improving the exploitation of their own marine resources in order to supply their growing populations.