On Friday 23 April, the European Commission authorised three French schemes totalling 100 million euros to support the fisheries sector affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the quota share reductions provided for in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
These support measures are the first to be authorised by the Commission in the context of the interinstitutional discussions on the ‘Brexit Adjustment Reserve’.
Although the decisions do not prejudge whether the support measures will ultimately be eligible for funding from this Brexit adjustment reserve (an assessment will be made once the Regulation enters into force), they already provide France with legal certainty that the Commission will find these measures to be compliant with EU State Aid rules, regardless of the ultimate source of funding.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for Competition Policy, admits that “the fisheries sector is one of the most affected by Brexit, requiring fishermen and downstream market operators in affected Member States to re-organise and adapt to the new situation”.
France notified three schemes (80 million euros to partially compensate for the fixed costs of vessels forced to stay at berth due to the quota reductions, 12 million euros to compensate for part of the loss of income suffered by the French fishing fleet, and 8 million euros to support French fish trade companies).
The Commission found that: - the aid enhances the sustainability of the fisheries sector and its ability to adapt to new fishing and market opportunities; - 80 million compensation is contingent on the fact that vessel owners and fishers have temporarily ceased their fishing activity for at least 25 days. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)