It’s been nearly six months since Karmenu Vella took over as European commissioner for the environment, maritime affairs and fisheries, and Europêche President Javier Garat told SeafoodSource in a video interview that he is cautiously optimistic about the new commissioner.
“He’s a reasonable person and he’s going to ty to get a balance between economic, social and environmental aspects,” Garat said.
Garat, who has been a critic of Vella’s predecessor, Maria Damanaki, said the new commissioner already is viewing things more differently than Damanaki, whom Garat described as being too focused on the environmental side of fisheries management.
Vella said he and Europêche will watch to see if Vella lives up Garat’s initial impressions.
“Now he has to demonstrate with actions the words that he has said,” he said.
Garat said Vella has met with Europêche twice and expressed interest in collaborating with industry, but it’s too soon to tell whether Vella will be a friend to the fishing industry.
“We need some more time to evaluate and assess how he’s been doing,” he said.
You can see Garat’s comments on Vella in the video below:
