Further efforts are needed to improve consumer information and market transparency, increase traceability and harmonise the rules applicable to fisheries and aquaculture products in the EU, according to the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries, which on Wednesday 29 November adopted (19 votes in favour, none against and five abstentions) a draft report by Izaskun Bilbao Barandica (Renew Europe, Spanish) assessing the implementation of the rules of the Common Market Organisation (CMO).
According to MEPs, EU and imported fish products must meet the same environmental and social sustainability standards.
To enable consumers to make informed choices, MEPs are calling on the European Commission to include information on ingredients, geographical fishing area, fishing gear and catch date on product labels. In addition, they are calling for more effective traceability and the implementation of an appropriate labelling system, which should also apply to processed, fresh and preserved aquatic food products.
MEPs also believe that the commercial designation ‘fish’ or ‘fish species’ should be reserved, on the internal market, for fishery or aquaculture products of animal origin. The Commission is invited to revise existing legislation on the labelling and presentation of plant-based products imitating fishery and aquaculture products, in order to guarantee consumers accurate and precise information that avoids any misunderstanding and preserves equal opportunities on EU markets.
Finally, MEPs call on the Commission to create a crisis reserve to protect the fisheries and aquaculture sector in exceptional situations.
All of Parliament is expected to vote on the own-initiative report at one of the plenary sessions in January 2024.
Link to the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/9w9 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)