The European Parliament approved (671 votes in favour, 10 against and 15 abstentions), on Friday 17 April, an enhanced text allowing aid to be paid to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, due to the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic (see EUROPE 12467/10).
The positions of the Parliament and the EU Council are identical, allowing the text to be formally adopted by the EU Council on 24 April.
The text will have retroactive effect from 1 February 2020 and anti-crisis measures will be possible until the end of 2020.
In addition to the measures provided for by the Commission (support for fishermen for the temporary cessation of activities, support for aquaculture farmers for the temporary suspension or reduction of production, support for producer organisations for the storage of products), the compromise amendments (https://bit.ly/3cs7PYZ ) adopted in plenary add the following provisions: - inclusion of 'fishermen on foot' among the beneficiaries of aid; - a derogation allowing new vessels to receive aid for temporary cessation (so as not to exclude those with less than 120 fishing days in 2 years); - flexibility to use 10% of the funds allocated to controls to help the sector; - the provision of working capital and compensation for aquaculture farmers.
Parliament’s Fisheries Committee Chair Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, France), welcomed the fact that the Parliament’s Fisheries Committee "worked for a week" with the Croatian Council Presidency "to improve" the European Commission's initial proposal of 2 April.
There were, in his view, "gaps", particularly with respect to the ability to compensate fishermen who had just started fishing.
Social objectives. Furthermore, on 16 March, the 'social partners' in the fisheries sector called (https://bit.ly/2KeHvFK ) on the Commission to include social objectives in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)