PURPOSE: to establish the European maritime and fisheries fund for the period 2021-2027.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the multiannual financial framework for the period 2021-2027 provides that the Union budget should continue to support fisheries and maritime affairs policies.
Europe's maritime sector employs over 5 million jobs generating almost EUR 500 billion a year, with a potential to create many more jobs. The output of the global ocean economy is estimated at EUR 1.3 trillion and this could more than double by 2030.
Fisheries are vital to the livelihood and cultural heritage of many coastal communities in the EU and an essential part of their cultural heritage. Along with aquaculture, it also contributes to food security and nutrition.
EU support is a key tool for sustainable fisheries and the conservation of the sea's biological resources, for food security through the supply of seafood, for the growth of a sustainable blue economy and for healthy, safe, secure, clean and sustainably managed seas and oceans, notably in the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
CONTENT: the proposal for a Regulation - presented for a Union of 27 Member States - seeks to establish the European maritime and fisheries fund (EMFF) for the period 2021-2027. Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council shall be repealed.
The new Fund shall support the environmental, economic, social and employment objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), promote the implementation of the Union's maritime policy and support the Union's international commitments in the field of ocean governance.
The fund's support shall be based on four priorities:
1. Fostering sustainable fisheries and the conservation of marine biological resources: support from the EMFF shall aim to achieve and maintain sustainable fishing based on the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and to minimise the negative impacts of fishing activities on the marine ecosystem with particular attention to small-scale fishermen. That support shall include innovation and investments in low-impact, climate resilient and low-carbon fishing practices and techniques. Support for fleet adaptation remains sometimes necessary with regard to certain fleet segments and sea basins. Such support should be tightly targeted to the conservation and sustainable exploitation of marine biological resources and aimed to achieve balance between the fishing capacity and the available fishing opportunities.
2. Contributing to food security in the Union through competitive and sustainable aquaculture and markets: the EMFF may support the promotion and the sustainable development of aquaculture, including freshwater aquaculture, for the farming of aquatic animals and plants for the production of food and other raw material. Public health actions, aquaculture stock insurance schemes and animal health and welfare actions shall also be eligible.
3. Enabling the growth of a sustainable blue economy and fostering prosperous coastal communities: the fund shall support community-led local development under shared management to stimulate economic diversification in a local context through the development of coastal and inland fisheries, aquaculture and a sustainable blue economy. It shall also support the collection, management and use of data to improve knowledge of the state of the marine environment.
4. Strengthening international ocean governance and enabling safe, secure, clean and sustainably managed seas and oceans: the EU plays a leading role in particular in preventing, deterring and eradicating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, improving the international framework for ocean governance, reducing pressures on oceans and seas, creating the conditions for a sustainable blue economy and strengthening international ocean research and data. The EMFF shall support these international commitments and objectives under direct management.
The EMFF shall also contribute to achieving the Union's environmental objectives in the light of the Commission's proposal to increase the total share of EU spending contributing to climate objectives to 25%.
Simplification: under the proposal, the EMFF beyond 2020 shall evolve towards a simplified architecture. Its effectiveness shall be improved by (i) allowing Member States to target support based on their strategic priorities; (ii) better targeting of support for the CFP; and (iii) better alignment with other EU funds since the rules applicable to all structural and investment funds are laid down in a Common Provisions Regulation.
In concrete terms, the EMFF shall co-finance projects alongside national funding streams with each Member State receiving a share of the total budget. Member States would prepare their national operational programmes indicating how they intend to spend the funds. Once these programmes have been approved by the Commission, the national authorities would decide which projects they wish to finance.
Proposed budget: the proposed overall budget for the EMFF amounts, in current prices, to EUR 6.14 billion, of which (i) EUR 5.31 billion allocated to support under shared management by the Member States through EMFF programmes based on national strategies and (ii) EUR 829 million to direct management.
Concerning shared management, after having deducted the value of the UK programme (EUR 243 million), Member States would retain, in nominal terms, 96.5% of their 2014-2020 allocation. In order to ensure stability in particular with regard to the achievement of the objectives of the CFP, the definition of national allocations will be based on the 2014-2020 shares.