# טאילאנד: אי.יו. האלט אן א געפאר פון עקספארט פארבאט צוליב 'ערנסטע זארגן' צוליב טאי פישעריי סעקטאר

The European Union says that it will maintain the threat of a potentially crippling seafood import ban on Thailand because the country’s ruling military junta is “still not doing enough” to improve its fisheries and labour practices.

The news came in a keenly-awaited announcement on the EU’s next step in its efforts to secure improvements to what some have branded “slave-like” conditions in the Thai seafood industry.

The EU, which is Thailand’s second biggest market for seafood exports, stated that “serious concerns" remain about the country‘s willingness to co-operate to combat illegal fishing.

But one senior MEP said its threat of possible further action did not go far enough.

First Vice Chair of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee Linnéa Engström told אי.יו. רעפּאָרטער that Thailand should be given a “red card”, meaning a crippling trade ban on the country's seafood exports.

Such punitive measures could be a major setback for the Thai fishing industry, the third largest in the world after China and Norway, with an estimated €4.8 billion of exports every year. Of that, €575 million of products are exported to the EU.

Engstrom, a Swedish Greens MEP, said: "Being the world's third-biggest exporter of fisheries products, Thailand has a significant share of the EU-market. The country has made some efforts to cope with the IUU-legislation, but the time frame has been too tight to handle all problematic parts of the fisheries sector.”

אַדווערטייזמאַנט

The parliamentarian added: “Thailand is simply not worthy of having the yellow card removed and should rather, according to the IUU-legislation, be formally identified with a red card.”

Further comment came from Willy Fautre, of Human Rights Without Frontiers, a leading rights NGO based in Brussels, who said: “The EU can no longer tolerate a slavery situation in Thai fisheries and should ban any seafood import as long as Thailand has not provided strong evidence that it is seriously implementing policies aiming at the eradication of this practice."

Brad Adams, of  Human Rights Watch, said: “It’s better to keep the threat of a red card for now, so long as it’s a real threat.”

The fisheries issue is just one of many issues facing the Thai junta which has also been condemned over an “undemocratic” new constitution which goes to a referendum in August.

In announcing the decision, the Commission notes that Thailand was warned last year with a yellow card due to its “inadequate fisheries legal framework and poor monitoring, control and traceability systems.”

It went on:  “Like all pre-identified countries, Thailand was proposed an action plan to address shortcomings. The Commission is currently evaluating progress.

“The dialogue is proving difficult and there remain serious concerns about the steps taken by Thailand to fight IUU fishing activities. This means that further action by the Commission cannot be ruled out.”

The Brussels-based executive said that a meeting with the Thai authorities in May “will be a new opportunity for them to show their good will and commitment”.

Thailand, which has been run by a military junta since a coup in May 2014 overthrew a legitimately elected government, was warned a year ago that it must do more to crack down on illegal fishing practices or else face EU sanctions.

If the talks fail, the EU could slap a trade ban on Thailand's seafood industry on the basis it has not fulfilled its duties under international law, EU officials say.

As Thailand is the third-largest global seafood exporter, with a stake of 8.1% of global exports, it needs the wealthy European market to maintain its seafood prominence. Annual Thai fish exports to the EU are estimated to be worth between €575m and €730m.

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