If we add the contribution of shipowners through various elements, however, such as advances for licences, levies, taxes, provisions and the salaries of island seamen, this figure rises, as indicated in the Commission’ s assessment report, Mrs Attwooll, to between EUR 17 and 20 million, since, furthermore, Victoria, which is the base port for the whole of the tuna fleet in the Indian Ocean, creates great wealth for the Seychelles. In view of this, Commissioner, I believe that this is the time to demand that the Commission give better treatment to shipowners, through the implementation, once and for all, of agreements of a regional nature, which prevent unnecessary multiplications of certain aspects that appear in all of the protocols of the region, in this case the Indian Ocean, such as the need to have an agent in each country, or to take on board seamen in each coastal State and also observers for each of the protocols, while, through rotating systems, all of the countries could benefit equally without leading to ridiculous and indiscriminate increases in costs for shipowners.
Signor Presidente, formulerò alcune brevi osservazioni su questo accordo perché è molto tardi e non è il momento di dilungarsi oltre misura.