Brussels, 25/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 23 October, the European Parliament rejected a controversial amendment to reintroduce state aid for the purchase of new fishing vessels, but adopted most other amendments passed by the European Parliament's fisheries committee on the draft European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and its budget of €6.5 billion for 2014-2020 (see EUROPE 10949).
Here is a summary of the main points of EMFF determined the EP before the trialogue meetings with the Council of Ministers and European Commission. Agreement is expected by the end of the year so the new fund can come into force on 1 January 2014.
Replacing engines. State aid is allowed under certain conditions - a 40% reduction in the power of the engine and only for fishing vessels less than twelve metres in length that use “passive” gear.
Aid to help young people become fishermen. This aid is possible for people under the age of 35, but may not exceed €100,000. The young people in question would have to be buying an artisan fishing vessel for coastal fishing for the first time, a vessel of between five and twenty years of age that had been used for fishing for the previous five years.
Replacing fishing gear. The EMFF may provide aid for investment in more selective fishing gear to reduce discards at sea.
Dismantling. Aid for the dismantling of vessels will be possible until 31 December 2016, but only for fishing fleets that are over-capacity.
Storage aid. Co-financing is possible between private stakeholders and public authorities. The EP has not included any phasing-out of this aid, but has set a 5% cap on the annual value of production put on sale.
Diversification into other areas. There will not be any training for jobs outside fishing, but there will be aid for diversifying into related areas, such as environmental services, education and tourism. It will also be possible to transfer the ownership of fishing companies.
Temporary cessation. Fishermen will be able to get finance from the fund for breaks from fishing to protect fish stocks, including biological breaks.
Solidarity funding. Compensation has been included for natural catastrophes.
Biological rest periods. Aid from the EMFF will be available for conservation measures, including biological rest periods.
Implementation of production and marketing plans. Compulsory EMFF aid for production and marketing plans (introduced by producer organisations) with 100% co-financing.
Increased spending on control and data collection. Some €6.5 billion in total is planned for EFFMA, with up to 71.86% of the cash for the sustainable development of fishing, fish farming and zones dependent on fisheries, with at least 12.5% for control and implementation measures and at least 12.97% for data collection.
Ports. The EMFF may support investment to improve existing fishing port infrastructure, like landing areas, auction halls and other support infrastructure on land, along with investment in waste and marine waste collection. (LC/transl.fl)