Fishing crisis to dominate EU talks in Luxembourg

The crisis facing fishermen across Europe is set to dominate the agenda when EU fisheries ministers meet in Luxembourg later today.

Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg is expected to outline details of a financial package agreed by the EC to help fishermen struggling due to rising fuel costs.

Ireland's Agriculture Minister, Brendan Smith, has also promised to also seek new regulations to prevent the import of illegal and unregulated fish into the EU market.

Irish fishermen will be eagerly watching proceedings after suspending their recent port blockades to see what measures the Government and the EU come up with.

Meanwhile, Junior Minister Tony Killeen has approved grant aid of more than 41m for the decommissioning of a further 46 Irish fishing vessels.

Approved applicants will have until July 18 to accept the offer, which is the latest stage in the Whitefish Decommissioning Scheme.