On Monday 30 March in Brussels, EU fisheries ministers will debate the energy transition in the EU’s fisheries and aquaculture sector.
This topic of debate, chosen by the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council before the Middle East crisis, comes at just the right time, given that the effects of the war in Iran and the region are having an impact on energy prices for fishing boats.
Ministers are expected to discuss the measures to be taken in the long term, as part of the work underway within the Council, such as the evaluation of the common fisheries policy (CFP), the ‘Vision 2040 for EU fisheries and aquaculture’, the EU’s external action in the field of fisheries and the Ocean Act.
In a separate item, Italy will call on the European Commission to take urgent action to tackle the crisis in the EU’s fisheries and aquaculture sector.
The Europêche organisation, which met the European Commissioner for Fisheries, Costas Kadis, on Thursday 26 March, highlighted that fuel prices had risen by more than 70% within days, reaching around €1.30 per litre in many EU ports, compared to a previous average of around €0.50. Operating costs are now exceeding revenues for many fishing businesses.
The sector called on the Commission to urgently deploy a comprehensive package of measures, including: - activation of the EU Temporary Crisis Framework, allowing rapid and flexible State aid deployment; - adaptation of State aid rules, with ceilings set per vessel rather than per company and the proposed ceiling being €400,000 over a three-year period; - mobilisation of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), with additional budget allocations; - increased interannual quota flexibility and storage aid.
European fisheries ministers will also be discussing two other issues: the implementation dialogue on small-scale and coastal fisheries (see EUROPE 13836/9) and mackerel fishing (requested by France and the Netherlands). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)