Brussels, 08/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - European Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki stated on Monday 8 September that support for European fishermen hit by the Russian ban in imports of fisheries products was a possibility. According to 2013 figures, the total export value of the EU fisheries products hit by the Russian embargo is close to €144 million, which represents 2% of total value of the EU's fish and aquaculture annual product.
In a letter to Italian Fisheries Minister Maurizio Martina, who chairs the Council, and Alain Cadec, chair of the European Parliament fisheries committee, Damanaki says that the EU can provide financial support to the sector and authorise the shifting of unused fishing quotas to 2015
The European Commission calls on the EU governments concerned by the ban to make use “as quickly as possible” of the European maritime and fisheries fund (EMFF), which can provide financial help to producer organisations who are unable to sell their products to Russia. This aid will enable them to store the unsold products until new markets have been found. Damanaki underlined that no approval by the European Commission is necessary to unlock these storage funds.
The Commission also points to flexibility rules which allow member states to carry over up to 10% of their fishing quotas to the following year. The commissioner underlined that, given the current circumstances, she has instructed her services to examine possibly going beyond the 10% quota flexibility. She said that she would be prepared to go beyond the 10%, on the condition that scientific examination confirms that such a proposal would not undermine long-term sustainability.
The fisheries products affected by the ban are live, fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, in brine and smoked fish, molluscs and crustaceans. The main member states exporting these products to Russia in 2013 were Denmark, Latvia, the UK, Ireland, Estonia, Spain and France. Russia is the EU's sixth largest export market for fisheries products. In 2013, EU exports of fisheries products to Russia represented 5% (€199 million) of total EU fisheries exports. In 2013, fisheries products represented 0.2% of the EU's overall exports to Russia.