The European Commission launched on 17 December two targeted consultations to ask stakeholders to contribute to two forthcoming reports on the functioning of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and on the Common Market Organisation (CMO) for fisheries and aquaculture products.
The European Commission will have to adopt these reports by the end of 2022, as foreseen in Articles 48 and 49 of the CFP and CMO Regulations.
CFP. The objective of this report is to assess the functioning of the CFP Regulation (Regulation 1380/2013) and to propose ways of improvement. The Commission does not want to undertake a real reform, said Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius in an interview with EUROPE (see EUROPE 12646/2).
The questionnaire will help the Commission to gather information on the functioning of the CFP. It will serve as a basis for further discussions at regional level starting in April 2022. The consultation process will end with an event before the summer of 2022.
CMO. The objective of the CMO report is to take stock of the implementation of the CMO Regulation (Regulation 1379/2013) and its legal provisions (professional organisations, compulsory marketing standards, information to consumers, the implementation of competition rules, and the collection of common market intelligence).
All stakeholders, including the fishing industry, non-governmental organisations, academic, scientific, social and economic partners are invited to participate in these targeted consultations before 28 February 2022.
The CFP questionnaire does not cover the Technical Measures Regulation or the protection of sensitive species and habitats. These are covered by a parallel consultation on the Action Plan to Conserve Fisheries Resources and Protect Marine Ecosystems, launched on 25 October, with a deadline of 20 December 2021.
Link to consultations: https://bit.ly/3e6E0zZ (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)