On Friday 12 December, the European Fisheries Ministers criticised the European Commission’s proposed reduction in funding for the fisheries and aquaculture sector from 2028 to 2034.
Spain’s Luis Planas criticised the fact that the Commission is only proposing a guaranteed amount of €2 billion over seven years, compared with €6 billion over the 2021-2027 period of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). According to Spain, a higher level of ambition would be desirable to support the decarbonisation of the fisheries sector.
The French minister, Catherine Chabaud, also called for a budget commensurate with the ambitions of the European Oceans Pact, judging the proposal to be largely insufficient. France has also called for progress on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), in parallel with the negotiations on the MFF (see EUROPE 13753/5).
The weakness of the post-2027 budget for fisheries has been criticised by several other countries, including Italy, Portugal, Romania, Belgium, Poland and Ireland. Several ministers insisted on maintaining specific funds for data collection and monitoring.
“I am convinced that under the forthcoming Cypriot Presidency we will make further progress in finding a compromise that will maximise the funding potential of the new architecture for the benefit of the sector”, replied Costas Kadis, Commissioner for Fisheries.
He added that monitoring and data collection are “important elements of the CFP that should be integrated into national and regional partnership plans” which would offer much wider opportunities for support. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)