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Proposal for a Regulation on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

In “A European Green Deal”

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On 12 June 2018, the Commission published its proposal on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) for the 2021-2027 period. It continues to support the core objectives of the CFP, namely to ensure that fishing activities are environmentally sustainable and the sector generates economic, social and employment benefits. It also supports the Union's maritime policy and its international commitments on ocean governance. Important changes are a greater flexibility in the national programmes and a preferential financial treatment for outermost regions and small-scale fisheries. Permanent and temporary cessation would be supported under strict conditions.

At the Parliament, the Committee on Fisheries (PECH) organised a hearing and exchange of views on the EMFF on 20 June 2018 and held a second exchange of views on 29 August 2018. Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spain) was appointed rapporteur and his draft report was presented on the PECH meeting of 24 September 2018. On top of the 83 amendments included in the draft report, 945 amendments have been submitted, which have been considered in the PECH meeting of 27 November 2018. The committee vote took place in the meeting of 7 March 2019, where the report was adopted. After a debate on 3 April 2019, Parliament adopted the first-reading resolution in plenary on 4 April 2019, including new amendments, by 497 votes to 93 with 40 abstentions. The plenary restricted again some of the more controversial measures regarding investments in small scale fishing vessels. While the PECH committee allowed support for vessels above 12 metres and removed the 40-year age limit for the first acquisition of a vessel by a young fisherman, both limits were restored in plenary. The resolution however supported the first acquisition of a new vessel (as compared to second-hand vessels only, in the Commission's proposal). It also allowed capacity-enhancing support measures for operations improving safety, working or living conditions on board, as long as the increase is within the national capacity ceiling and without jeopardising the balance between fishing capacity and available fishing opportunities. With the vote in plenary, Parliament established its first-reading position.

In the Council, the proposal has been studied by the Working Party for Internal and External Fishery Policy. The Council agreed its negotiating position at the AGRIFISH Council meeting of 18 June 2019. Among the changes compared to the Commission proposal, the text further simplifies the fund, proposes less strict conditions for support to temporary cessation and extends the support for the fleet investments. Similar to Parliaments position, the Council provides a derogation to the provision that operations increasing the capacity of a fishing vessel or its ability to find fish are not allowed. In Councils position, capacity-enhancing operations are allowed if they relate to investments in onboard safety, labour conditions and energy efficiency, and provided they go along with very restrictive conditions such as the respect of fishing capacity ceilings. The Council also extended the maximum length for the provisions related to investments in fishing vessels (from 12 up to 24 metres). At the October 2019 Council meeting, the negotiation position was supplemented by adding some of the remaining elements related to result indicators, delegated acts and the alignment with the Common Provisions Regulation. At the October 2020 Council meeting, an additional general approach was reached on the financial aspects. The new MFF finally adopted by the Council on 17 December 2020 presented the amounts in 2018 prices: with €5 430 million, the budget of the new fund is 13 % below the EMFF budget for the 2014-2020 period (excl. the UK).

Under the new parliamentary term, Francisco José Millán Mon was appointed as the rapporteur. An exchange of views was held on the PECH meeting of 2 October 2019 and a vote on the mandate to enter into interinstitutional negotiations was approved on the PECH meeting of 12 November. First trilogue meetings took place on 19 November and 10 December 2019. Gabriel Mato was reappointed as rapporteur after his return to Parliament as one of the additional 'post-Brexit' members. New trilogue meetings took place on 4 March and 12 June 2020. In the PECH meeting of 25 June, the rapporteur reported on the ongoing negotiations. An important area of discussion is subsidies to fishing vessels, on which both co-legislators want to go further than the Commission proposal. New trilogues took place on 24 September and 17 November 2020 after which a provisional agreement was reached on 4 December 2020 during the 7th trilogue. On fleet aid, the agreed text includes several measures dedicated to vessels up to 24 metres long: support for the first acquisition of a second-hand vessel by a young fisherman, replacement or modernisation of engines and operations that increase the gross tonnage of a fishing vessel for the purpose of improving safety, working conditions or energy efficiency. The possibility of acquiring a new vessel as proposed by Parliament has not been retained. In case of engine replacement or modernisation, the vessel must have been registered for at least 5 years and the new engine may not have more power than the current one. In addition, for vessels of 12-24 metres, the new engine should emit at least 20 % less CO2.

The deal has been endorsed by the PECH Committee on 22 February 2021 (21 votes in favour, 6 against and 1 abstention). On 14 June 2021, Council approved the provisional agreement, adoption its first reading position. In Parliament, the text was approved in plenary on 6 July 2021 (by 516 votes in favour, 143 against and 35 abstentions), closing the procedure at second reading. The new regulation, signed on 7 July 2021, was published in the Official Journal on 13 July as Regulation 2021/1139, entered into force on the following day and applies retroactively from 1 January 2021.

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    Further reading:

    Author: Frederik Scholaert, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu 

    As of 15/12/2024.