“Many Member States have asked for the EU legal framework on State aid to be amended to allow the fleet to be modernised for energy purposes”, said Hilde Crevits, the Flemish Minister for Agriculture, after the informal meeting of EU fisheries ministers in Bruges, Belgium, on Monday 25 March.
The EU fisheries ministers debated the future of European fisheries and aquaculture policies, as the mandates of the European Commission and the European Parliament come to an end without any real reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The reform will have to be undertaken during the next term of office (see EUROPE 13132/5).
Summing up the ministers’ debate, Hilde Crevits also underlined that the Member States had called for a “strong common ambition” to achieve an “attractive, profitable and resilient” European fisheries and aquaculture sector. “To do this, the diversity of the European fleet must be a central concern. A one-size-fits-all approach is not ideal”, said the acting chair of the Council.
Finally, the use of artificial intelligence and other innovations are warmly welcomed by the Member States, according to the Belgian Presidency.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, the European Commissioner for Oceans and Fisheries, recalled that his role as Commissioner was “coming to an end”. He has asked his departments to undertake a “full evaluation” of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) regulations to assist his successor.
“A difficult mandate”. Virginijus Sinkevičius said that with the crises and Brexit, “it has been a difficult mandate”. “We can be proud of what we have achieved in the past five years”, the Commissioner nevertheless concluded, citing in particular the improvement in the sustainability of fish stocks in all sea basins and the reform of the control system.
To ensure the prosperity of the sector, he believes it is important to ensure generational renewal. Steps also need to be taken to ensure that competition in the sector is “fair”, both between EU fishers and between EU and third-country fishers. “Finally, we need to continue managing fish stocks sustainably. If there is no fish, unfortunately, there is no future for the sector”, emphasised Virginijus Sinkevičius. In his view, the CFP and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) “provide a strong basis to tackle these challenges”. He cited the recently launched European project entitled ‘Fishers of the Future’. The aim is to explore “fishers’ hopes, fears, expectations, and needs, together with stakeholders, and to have an open and frank conversation about their future”.
Aid for the purchase of new boats. In addition to stressing the importance of fisheries products for food security, promoting policies to encourage fish consumption, which has a low carbon footprint, and taking into account the socio-economic impact of the measures proposed under the CFP (a balance to be struck between decisions to preserve marine biodiversity and maintaining the productive fabric and economic development of fishing in coastal areas), the Spanish minister, Luis Planas, felt that the EMFAF should include aid to “renew the fishing fleet” and thus make it more efficient, low-carbon and safe. He mentioned the aid for the purchase of new, more efficient vessels.
Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and the end of discarding have been two important elements, but “we need to tackle the question of the profitability of our activity and our fishers”, stressed Mr Planas (see EUROPE 13225/4).
The European framework must evolve with regard to capacity constraints and investment aid, said the French delegation, which believes that the next institutional cycle must prioritise the revision of the CFP and the EMFAF, the setting of food sovereignty objectives (by integrating the commercial dimension and the principle of reciprocity with regard to products imported from third countries) as well as the development of aquaculture sectors.
Agreement with Morocco. Another important issue for Spain is a possible new EU-Morocco fisheries agreement. Mr Planas said: “We should not prejudge situations, but in any case we are ready to deal with any scenario, in contact with the Moroccan authorities, and obviously both the Council and the Commission are working on this”. He felt that “we have to wait for the judgment” of the EU Court of Justice (after the Opinion of the Advocate General) to see what happens and what the practical consequences are.
Brexit. Charlie McConalogue, Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, spoke of the importance of fully assessing the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU on Member States, particularly Ireland, “because we are the Member State that has seen the biggest impact on fish quotas post-Brexit”. According to the Irish minister, ways must be found to take account of the impact of Brexit on fishing quotas in particular, “to ensure that we have strong, sustainable fisheries in the future”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)