language version - Europa

FOREWORD
Dear Member,
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the European Parliament and to
provide you with information on the in-house resources available in terms of expert advice.
Effective parliamentary work relies on specialised, objective, high-quality, up-to-date information.
To this end, five units responsible for research, known as ‘Policy departments’, have
been created. Their activities cover all the European Parliament’s areas of competence. They
produce high-quality independent research, which is carried out either in house or by external
experts.
Policy Department B ‘Structural and Cohesion Policies’ is in charge of five policy areas: agriculture
and rural development, culture and education, fisheries, regional development, and transport and
tourism. It delivers a wide variety of tools, ranging from in-depth analyses of complex legislative
issues to short background notes and even workshops where experts are invited to make live
presentations. The purpose of these tools is to support the work of parliamentary bodies, for
instance by contributing directly to the legislative work of a specific committee or serving as
background information for delegation visits by Members. Apart from a few confidential
documents, all the texts produced by Policy Department B ‘Structural and Cohesion Policies’ are
published on Parliament’s website for the benefit of MEPs and the wider public.
In this publication you will find brief information on the major policy developments in the
area of fisheries that occurred during Parliament’s last term. We also discuss the challenges
that fisheries policy will face in the near future. Finally, we provide an introduction to the
options available to you in terms of the in-house and external expertise provided by Policy
Department B.
I wish you a pleasant reading!
Ismael Olivares Martinez
Director
Directorate B: Structural and Cohesion Policies
Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union
FOREWORD
7