Fish first on the Government's EU agenda

Mackerel negotiations were top of the agenda when Minister of Fisheries Elisabeth Aspaker met with EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki in Oslo.

Damanaki is the first EU Commissioner to have political discussions with the new Norwegian Government.

- It was very useful and important to me to meet with the Fisheries Commissioner early on. Her presence in Oslo a mere four weeks after we took office demonstrates how important contact between the EU and Norway is, Aspaker says.

Norway and the EU manage common fish stocks, and the mackerel negotiations were given prominence in today's meeting.

- We are both concerned with working for sustainable management of our common resources. Cooperation is dependent on a good dialogue on challenging issues. We have both emphasized that we want to find a new, long-term solution to the mackerel issue and have agreed to continue discussing this, said the Minister of Fisheries, Elisabeth Aspaker, following the political talks.