Brussels, 02/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has opened a public consultation, lasting till 17 June, to review the rules on state aid paid to the fisheries sector, especially those that apply to the so-called “de minimis” aid, which can be paid to fishermen without there being an obligation to notify the Commission.
The Commission seeks to collect the views of citizens and stakeholders on review of two of its regulations: - Regulation 875/2007 of 24 July 2007 relating to application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the fisheries sector; - and Regulation 736/2008 of 22 July 2008 relating to application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to state aid to small and medium-sized enterprises active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries products (hereafter to be called the “block exemption regulation” or “BER”). The consultation also aims to collect information on the experience of national administrations and stakeholders in applying both regulations. The de minimis regulation and the block exemption regulation are due to expire on 31 December 2013. This raises the question of whether the Commission should renew those regulations and, if so, with what conditions.
The review comes in the context of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) currently being negotiated by the co-legislators. The state aid instruments specific to the fisheries sector will have to be reviewed to reflect the priorities and objectives of the CFP, including the contents of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Review is also part of the state aid modernisation (SAM) initiative of the European Commission.
There are two questionnaires in order to facilitate and encourage participation of stakeholders: one of a general nature primarily targeting citizens (general public), and another, more specific questionnaire, that primarily targets public authorities and organisations.
The fisheries sector (which, for the purposes of the present consultation encompasses the catch, aquaculture and processing sectors) is subject to the Union's general restrictions on state aid. In principle, these prohibit national authorities from granting financial support to companies in order to ensure that no sector of any one country benefits from an unfair competitive advantage.
There are exceptions to this rule, especially in the following cases: - when amounts are so low that they are deemed not to influence trade between member states or to distort competition (de minimis aid). The current threshold is fixed at €30,000 per company, for a three year period. Some types of aid, in particular aid intended to increase the fishing capacity of ships, are excluded from such aid. For the period 2009-2011, member states have granted de minimis aid to the sum of €34.5 million, which is equivalent to under 5% of the ceiling fixed by the Union; - some types of aid in favour of SMEs for which the positive impact prevails over the adverse effects, covered by the block exemption regulation, which essentially reflects the content of the European Fisheries Fund. Aid paid out under the block exemption regulation amounted to €44 million over the 2008-2011 period for the Union as a whole.
Questions put to citizens were essentially the following: - Do you consider that state aid in favour of the fisheries sector has a positive or negative effect on the environment, on the sector's economic performance, and/or on the social structure of the sector (jobs, salaries and viability of coastal areas)?; How could the rules relating to state aid in the fisheries sector be made more effective and better targeted on areas the most affected by market failings?; Do you think that the economic crisis has changed the resolve of public authorities in your member state to grant aid?; What changes should be made to the de minimis regulation? In particular; do you think it is appropriate to increase the current thresholds, maintain them, or decrease them?; - Do you think that other categories should also be excluded from the de minimis regulation?; - Regarding the block exemption regulation, do you think that aid for companies larger than SMEs should also be covered in the future?
We would point out that, in 2008, during the crisis in the fisheries sector due to the high price of diesel oil, those working in the fisheries sector and a number of EU member states had requested, in vain, that the threshold of de minimis aid be raised from €30,000 to €100,000. (LC/transl.jl)