PURPOSE: to establish Community financial measures for the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and in the area of the Law of the Sea.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.
CONTENT: this proposal aims to establish the framework for financial interventions for the implementation of the CFP in addition to the proposal for a Council Regulation on the European Fisheries Fund. Interventions are planned in particular in the following areas: control and enforcement, conservation measures, data collection and improvement of scientific advice, governance, international relations and the Law of the Sea. The present proposal will regroup existing legal instruments with a view to making Community financial interventions for the implementation of the CFP more effective, transparent and easier to manage, both for the Commission and for the competent authorities of the Member States and other beneficiaries, in accordance with the principle of sound financial management and the rules laid down in the financial regulation and in line with the requirements of better regulation and simplification of Community legislation.
The proposed Regulation shall contribute to improving the conditions for implementing financial interventions in each of these areas by setting specific objectives for each of them. These objectives can be summarised as follows:
- As regards control and enforcement, the aim is to improve the control of fishing activities in order to combat those fishing activities that are damaging the conservation of resources within and outside Community waters, by providing Community financial support to Member States to reduce weaknesses in their fisheries control programmes; by evaluating and controlling the application by the Member States of the rules of the CFP , and by assisting coordination of control measures, particularly with regard to the joint deployment of national inspection and surveillance systems by means of the Community Fisheries Control Agency.
- As regards the area of data collection and scientific advice the objective is to provide Community support for the collection and management of the data needed to evaluate the state of fisheries resources and the fishing industry, within and outside Community waters, by providing Community financial support to the Member States to establish multi-annual aggregated and science-based data sets which incorporate biological, environmental and economic information. In the area of governance, interventions shall provide information and ensure the involvement of stakeholders at all stages of policy development up to and including implementation.
- In the area of international relations interventions shall provide Community financial support for the conclusion of fisheries agreements with third countries, including partnership agreements, and participation in international organisations relating to fisheries or the law of the sea, contributing to the improvement of the sustainability of the fisheries resources in third country waters and on the high seas.
For a more detailed assessment of the budgetary implications of this proposal, please refer to the financial statement.