EU fisheries ministers have failed to agree a new funding scheme that would provide Irish fishermen with tens of millions of euro over the next seven years.
Talks broke up yesterday after member states disagreed on key elements of the €3.8 billion fund, which aims to support the EU fishing fleet.
The failure to reach a deal is likely to result in a delay in the flow of EU funds to fishermen during the next EU budget period between 2007-2013. However, the commission said it would make a new attempt at overcoming disagreements on the funding in September.
Several northern European states such as Britain, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands blocked the controversial aid package that would enable fishermen to fund the modernisation of fishing boats and replacement engines with EU subsidies.
A British diplomat said the chief concern was that the measures would put further pressure on already depleted fish stocks. The funding programme also ran counter to an EU agreement in 2002 to stop giving aid to upgrade fishing fleets, he added.
Supporters of the proposed aid programme said it would contribute to the goal of creating a sustainable fisheries sector in Europe.
The proposed funding package was supported by Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and several new member states, including Poland and Estonia. But under the EU rules of qualified majority voting no compromise could be found to satisfy both sides.
In the final vote Belgium, Britain and Germany voted against the package, while Poland abstained.
Last year EU fisheries ministers also failed to agree on the same funding package.
The World Wildlife Fund said the failure to agree EU subsidies was a good day for fishing as it would prevent an increase in the capacity of the EU fishing fleet at a time when stocks were dwindling.