Negotiators from three EU institutions are meeting on Wednesday, 4 March, in Brussels to discuss certain elements of the 2021–2027 European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
During this trilogue, European Parliament, EU Council, and Commission negotiators will, for the first time, discuss fleet aid, such as the following support measures: - the first acquisitions of vessels for young fishermen (purchase of new vessels for small-scale coastal fishing, according to the European Parliament, and for three-year-old vessels, according to the EU Council); - the conditional construction of new vessels; - the replacement or modernisation of vessel engines (not leading to increased power, according to the European Parliament, and for vessels up to 24 metres, according to the EU Council’s position, with a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions); and - the permanent cessation (aid for ‘scrapping vessels’) or temporary cessation (the European Parliament envisages more flexible conditions, such as biological recovery periods or climate events) of activities.
The trilogue agenda also provides for interinstitutional debates on ‘operational programmes’ (references to maximum sustainable yield, sea basin action plans, and aquaculture).
The Commission has criticised certain elements in the European Parliament and EU Council positions which result in increased fishing capacity (aid for the construction of new vessels and aid for changing engines). Francisco José Millán Mon (EPP, Spain) is the European Parliament rapporteur.
The next trilogue will take place in Strasbourg on 31 March. The Croatian Presidency of the Council hopes that the three institutions will finalise an agreement on the next EMFF by the end of June 2020, but the content of the text will depend on the negotiations on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021–2027 (see EUROPE 12397/13). The European Parliament wants to increase the EMFF budget to 6.867 billion [euros] at constant 2018 prices, compared to the 6.1 billion proposed by the European Commission.
A report has criticised how France and Spain used funds. According to a report by the NGO ClientEarth, France and Spain have so far failed to use EMFF funds to implement the objectives of the common fisheries policy (CFP) to end overfishing and restore stocks.
In this association’s opinion, both countries continued to promote “harmful” subsidies that can lead to overfishing when they would not finance a “sufficient amount” of measures to conserve the marine environment.
The report—which analyses how France, Spain, and Ireland spent the funds available in 2017 and 2018—shows that out of 3,105 projects in Spain in 2018, 305 were dedicated to environmental protection and restoration, while 1,558 focused on temporary cessation, “which artificially maintains fishers in activity”, criticises ClientEarth.
The report also notes that the French authorities have “have kept on financing” harmful subsidies, such as those aimed at engine replacement or modernisation of vessels, “despite the overall profitable economic situation enabling fishers to self-finance their investments on board”, according to the association.
Link to the ClientEarth report: http://bit.ly/32NLuBG (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)