Brussels, 16/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - In the evening of Monday 15 July, European fisheries ministers reached an agreement on arrrangements for redistributing the €6.4 billion from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
From 2014 to 2020, €870 million will go to direct management and €5.5 billion to shared management: €4.3 billion to develop fisheries and aquaculture, €482 million for controls, €344 million for gathering data, €192 million for outermost regions (including a maximum of €12.3 million a year for French outermost regions, €8.7 million for the Canary Islands and €6.4 million for the Azores), €45.4 million for storage aid and €76.5 million for integrated maritime policy.
This political agreement in principle (comprehensive general approach, after partial agreement obtained in October 2012) paves the way to implementing fisheries reform that is “more lasting and sustainable”, according to Commissioner for Fisheries Maria Damanaki. She added that, following the May agreement on CFP reform, “this is the last piece in the puzzle”. Vigilijus Jukna, the Lithuanian fisheries minister described this achievement as “a very important agreement”.
The agreement will still need to be negotiated with the European Parliament, prior to final agreement by the end of the year. MEPs are due to adopt their position in October.
Bulgaria and Romania voted against the compromise. As new member states and with their respective performances on Community fund absorption still at mediocre levels, they feel that they have been harmed, with regard to new funding, by account being taken of results achieved over the 2007-2013 period. France said that this text would thus facilitate implementation of “an updated, sustainable and responsible fisheries policy which will, at the same time, provide it with the concrete capability of reaching the discard elimination targets and maximum sustainable yield”. (LC/transl.fl)