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Brussels, 21.12.2009

COM(2009)696 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION

SECOND ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND (2008)

SEC(2009)1714

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION SECOND ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND (2008) 1

1. INTRODUCTION 4

2. ANNUAL REPORT 2008 4

2.1. Main developments, trends and challenges relating to the implementation of the OPs (Article 68(2) of the EFF) 4

2.1.1. Implementation of European Fisheries Fund by Member States 4

2.1.2. Budget implementation by the Commission 6

2.2. Coordination of the EFF with the Structural Funds and the EAFRD 6

2.3. Technical assistance 6

2.3.1. Use made of the Technical Assistance budget by the Member States 7

2.3.2. Use made of the Technical Assistance budget by the Commission 7

2.4. State of play of audit strategies, management and control systems and annual control reports 8

2.5. Information provided in accordance with the transparency initiative 8

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESTRUCTURING REGULATION (REGULATION (EC) NO 744/2008) 9

3.1. Background 9

3.2. Implementation 9

3.2.1. General measures (Articles 5 to 10 of the Restructuring Regulation) 9

3.2.1.1. Temporary cessation of fishing activities under Article 6 9

3.2.1.2. Investments on board of fishing vessels under Article 7 9

3.2.1.3. Socio-economic compensation under Article 8 9

3.2.1.4. Collective actions under Article 9 and pilot projects under Article 10 10

3.2.2. Special measures for fleets concerned by Fleet Adaptation Schemes (Articles 11 to 17 of the Restructuring Regulation) 10

3.2.3. Partial decommissioning (Article 17) 11

3.2.4. Financial provisions (Article 20). 11

3.2.5. Audit (Article 13(2)) 11

3.3. Preliminary assessment 11

4. EFF IMPLEMENTATION TABLES 13

4.1. TABLE I : FINANCIAL EXECUTION CONVERGENCE 13

4.2. TABLE II : FINANCIAL EXECUTION NON CONVERGENCE 15

4.3. TABLE III: FINANCIAL EXECUTION CONVERGENCE AND NON CONVERGENCE 17

4.4. TABLE IV OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION IN 2008 19

4.5. TABLE V EFF BREAKDOWN BY PRIORITY AXIS AND BY MEMBER STATE 20

INTRODUCTION

THE EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND (EFF) ENTERED INTO EFFECT ON 1ST JANUARY 2007. IT COVERS THE PROGRAMMING PERIOD 2007- 2013 AND REPLACES THE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT FOR FISHERIES GUIDANCE (FIFG) [1].

According to Article 68 of the EFF Regulation[2], by 31 December each year the Commission shall forward to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the European Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions a report on the actual implementation of the EFF. The report must be based on an examination and assessment by the Commission of the Member States' Annual Reports and on any other available information.

The content of the first Annual Report for 2007 was limited as, by the end of 2007, only 19 (out of 26) Operational Programmes (OPs) were adopted. The remaining 7 OPs were adopted in the second half of 2008. Due to the late adoption of OPs, by the end of 2008 only a very small number of Management and Control Systems (MCS) and Audit Strategies had been accepted by the Commission. The resulting low rate of implementation implies that the Commission report on the implementation of the EFF for 2008 concentrates more on the way the OPs are programmed than on the actual execution, which remained limited at that stage.

The low implementation rate may also result from the reprogramming efforts undertaken by a number of Member States in order to implement the temporary specific action in Council Regulation 744/2008, hereafter referred to as the Restructuring Regulation[3] adopted by the Council on 24 July 2008. Article 22 of that Regulation stipulates that by 31 December 2009 the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the measures laid down by the Regulation. As these measures constitute a temporary derogation from some provisions of the EFF and considering that they are implemented within the EFF OPs, the Commission decided to report jointly on both the annual implementation of the EFF and on the implementation of the Restructuring Regulation.

ANNUAL REPORT 2008

Main developments, trends and challenges relating to the implementation of the OPs (Article 68(2) of the EFF)

Implementation of European Fisheries Fund by Member States

For the 19 OPs adopted by the end of 2007, Member States' efforts concentrated on the preparation of the next implementation steps such as the setting-up of the monitoring committee and its terms of reference, the adoption of the selection criteria by the monitoring committee, the preparation and adoption of national provisions and mechanisms in order to allow for the launch of tenders or the publication of measures for application. Therefore, actual implementation hardly started in Member States in 2008 and, with the exception of Austria and France, no interim payment claims were submitted.

2008 was also marked by the approval of the remaining 7 OPs in the second half of the year. Table IV shows the dates of the adoption of the 7 OPs adopted in 2008.

The financial tables in Table V on the breakdown of EFF allocations between priority axes show an overall even distribution of funds between priority axes[4] 1, 2, and 3, with 27% (EUR 1 142 923 976) allocated to the adjustment of the fishing fleet (axis 1), 30% (EUR 1 274 547 215) for aquaculture, processing and marketing (axis 2) and 27% (EUR 1 162 007 083) for collective actions (axis 3). Axis 4 is less prominently funded with an average allocation of 13% (EUR 567 365 857). This is due to the fact that measures for the sustainable development of fisheries areas are new in the programming period 2007-2013 and their implementation will only become effective as from 2010, once the local groups have been set up and the local development strategies are being implemented. This still shows, however, the high interest of Member States in this innovative measure.

The allocations per axis vary largely between the Member States, reflecting the highly diverging conditions and strategies of Member States for their fisheries sector. Funds for the adjustment of the fishing fleet vary for instance between 82% in Ireland and 4.3% in Romania. The analysis of Axis 1 shows that the approach towards fleet adaptation measures, such as permanent cessation, depends largely on the general strategic approach for tackling overcapacity. Thus, some Member States give priority to the scrapping of vessels whilst others prefer market mechanisms like Individual Transfer Quotas (ITQs) to reduce fishing capacity. As a result the capacity reduction targets vary between the OPs. Overall, the target set in the OPs for capacity reduction is around 15% (kW and GT) by the end of 2013.

Very large differences can also be noted in the allocations for support to aquaculture and processing and marketing. Whereas, for instance, Ireland has opted out from such support landlocked countries naturally foresee a high share of support under Axis 2, e.g. 98% in Austria.

Similarly, there is a high variation of allocations for measures of common interest under Axis 3 with 1% allocated in the Austrian OP and 65% in the Cypriot OP. Due to the variety of measures available under this axis it is difficult to identify the underlying patterns but most Member States decided to allocate to this priority between one fourth and one third of the total EFF resources.

For the sustainable development of fisheries areas the landlocked countries (Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic) and Malta have decided not to apply for Axis 4. For the other countries the allocations vary between 2.6% in the case of France and 32.5% for Romania. On the basis of the OPs one can expect more than 200 fisheries local action groups to be established by the second half of 2010 (until now 80 such groups have been created). EFF budgets per group range from EUR 560 000 (France) to around EUR 6 million (Poland).

With regard to the level of actual execution of OPs in Member States, the information provided by the Member States in the annual reports on implementation in 2008[5] shows that actual implementation is still very low, with only 2 Member States having submitted interim payment claims. Consequently, up to now only EUR 5 404 048 has been paid to beneficiaries.

Budget implementation by the Commission

In terms of commitments, in 2008 24.05% (EUR607 763 784) of the total appropriations for 2007-2013 (EUR 4 304 949 019) were committed, of which EUR 459 679 025 for convergence and EUR 148 084 759 for non-convergence regions. In terms of payments 11.1% (EUR 249 361 192) of the total appropriations for 2007-2013 were paid, of which 99,81% for convergence (EUR197 796 248) and 99.07% for non-convergence regions (EUR 51 564 944). These payments were almost entirely made in the form of pre-financing payments, of which EUR 72 775 030 for the 7 OPs adopted in 2008. In addition, 14 Member States claimed a second pre-financing payment, a possibility introduced by the Restructuring Regulation, leading to additional pre-financing payments. Due to lack of payment appropriations, only 9 Member States received the second pre-financing in 2008 (EUR 176 248 671, of which EUR137 865 475 for convergence (8 Member States) and EUR 38 383 197 for non-convergence regions (7 Member States)). More detailed information on financial execution is provided in Tables I to III.

Coordination of the EFF with the Structural Funds and the EAFRD

The OPs show that all Member States are aware of the need to ensure consistency and coordination in EFF implementation with the Structural Funds (the ERDF and the ESF), as well as with the EAFRD. The OPs provide information about the systems set up (or being set up) in the Member States in order to avoid overlapping, as requested by Article 6 of the EFF Regulation.

The Managing Authorities (MAs) of the EFF play a main role in the coordination mechanism. EFF Managing Authorities may be represented in the Monitoring Committees of the Structural Funds and EAFRD, and accordingly Management Authorities of those funds are invited to EFF Monitoring Committees. Some Member States have set up national (or regional) coordination committees for all EU funds. In some countries national legislation describes measures taken to ensure coordination and consistency between different sources of EU financial support. In addition to this, each EFF OP describes demarcation criteria in relation to those EFF measures which are eligible for support under other EU programmes.

Technical assistance

The aim of Technical Assistance (Axis 5) is to support actions related to the preparation, monitoring, administrative and technical support, evaluation, audit and control necessary for implementing the EFF Regulation. The Commission may use up to 0.8% of the annual EFF allocation for this purpose. Member States may use up to 5% of their EFF allocation to finance management of their OP. On average Member States allocated 3.7% to Technical Assistance. However, 2 Member States (Italy and Slovenia) made use of the possibility to exceed the threshold of 5% based on a due justification.

Use made of the Technical Assistance budget by the Member States

On the basis of the Annual Reports received and accepted so far, it results that 14 Member States committed amounts under the Technical Assistance budget. The remaining 12 Member States did not make any use of this budget due to delays in the adoption or implementation of the OPs. The Member States with larger amounts committed to TA were: Italy (EUR 3 165 540), Sweden (EUR 683 819), Spain (EUR 673 144), Portugal (EUR 600 000) and Denmark (EUR 536 870). Measures funded aimed to improve administrative capacity, develop IT, to launch studies, to increase publicity and information and to support the management and implementation of the OPs.

Use made of the Technical Assistance budget by the Commission

In 2008, the Commission used EUR 1 416 000 of the EFF Technical Assistance budget on the following:

Conferences

A conference on "Tools for launching axis 4 of the EFF[6]" was held on 18-19 February 2008 in Marseille, France. The objective of the conference was to provide national and regional authorities and local actors concerned with Axis 4 of the EFF with an opportunity to review the state of play and share information on the tools and methods required for launching Axis 4 successfully at national or regional level and at a local level. The amount committed for this event was EUR 191 000.

Studies

The Commission commissioned a study on the "Review of economic performance and competitive position of the EU aquaculture sector: Identification of constraints to the development of EU aquaculture". The objective of the study was to identify the current strengths and weaknesses of the EU aquaculture farming industry, as well as the opportunities and threats it has to face and will be facing in the future. The findings of the study have fed into the preparation of the Commission Communication of 8 April 2009 on building a sustainable future for aquaculture. The amount committed for the study was EUR 300 000.

Communication and publications

The Commission contracted a service provider to produce several publications on the EFF and other related issues for communication purposes. The amount committed for these services was EUR 150 000.

Information technology

The Commission committed EUR 325 000 for the development and maintenance of applications for managing the EFF and the FIFG, as well as informatics material.

Non-permanent staff

EUR 450 000 were committed for the salaries of non-permanent staff.

State of play of audit strategies, management and control systems and annual control reports

Member States have to submit their management and control systems (MCS) to the Commission one year after the approval of their OPs. The Audit Strategies (AS) must be submitted within 9 months of approval. Due to the late adoption of OPs, by the end of 2008 only a very small number of MCSs and ASs had been accepted by the Commission. At the end of 2008 14 Member States had submitted their ASs, 4 of which were accepted and 10 were rejected or interrupted. As regards the MCS, 16 were submitted in 2008; only 1 was accepted; 3 were considered non-admissible; 3 were rejected and 9 were under consideration by the Commission. Given the low level of implementation of the programmes, the audit authorities in their annual control reports were obliged to provide a disclaimer of opinion due to the absence of sufficient audit activity. Therefore, it is clearly too early to describe a meaningful state of play or to carry out an overall assessment of the annual control reports and opinions at this stage. With the information available at present, we expect that the Commission will be able to report in more detail in 2010.

Information provided in accordance with the transparency initiative

The European Transparency Initiative (ETI) requires Member States to provide information on how EU funds under shared management are spent. As regards the publication of beneficiaries of the EFF, this obligation is further specified in Commission Regulation (EC) No 498/2007.

21 Member States have published national lists of beneficiaries so far. The Commission has been taking action in order to ensure full compliance with ETI requirements by all Member States.

Publication of data on beneficiaries receiving support from the EFF varies across Member States because the ETI establishes only minimum requirements for publication of such data including the list of beneficiaries, the name of the operation and the amount of public funds allocated to the operation. However, it is up to the Member States to decide whether to publish additional or more detailed information.

The list of relevant links where Member States publish this information is available in the Commission website at:

http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/structural_measures/transparency_en.htm

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESTRUCTURING REGULATION (REGULATION (EC) NO 744/2008)

BACKGROUND

On 8 July 2008, the Commission adopted a package of measures aimed at alleviating the severe economic crisis observed in certain segments of the EU fishing fleet, in particular for vessels using towed gears (COM(2008)453). An important element of such a package was a proposal for a Council Regulation instituting an ad hoc special, temporary regime which, for a limited period, introduced new possibilities for Member States to restructure the fishing fleet alongside with some other accompanying measures. Regulation (EC) No 744/2008, hereinafter "the Restructuring Regulation", was adopted by the Council on the basis of such proposal.

Implementation

The Restructuring Regulation introduced three types of measures: measures of a general nature (available to all operators in the sector), measures for fleets or fleet segments particularly dependent on fuel costs in the context of Fleet Adaptation Schemes (FAS), and financial measures. Their implementation fell within the OPs adopted by Member States, except for the special measures applicable to FAS, which required ad-hoc adjustments of the existing OPs.

General measures (Articles 5 to 10 of the Restructuring Regulation)

Generally speaking, these measures can be taken at any point in time during the programming period, provided administrative decisions are taken before 1 January 2010. An important exception is the case of temporary cessation set out in Article 6, where stricter deadlines apply. Consequently, there is no formal obligation for Member States to anticipate one or another measure except the said temporary closures. What follows is therefore an overview of the expected implementation based on declarations from Member States which are not binding.

Temporary cessation of fishing activities under Article 6

Only CY, EL, ES, FR, PL and PT declared intentions to use the increased possibilities to finance temporary cessation of fishing activities under Article 6.

Investments on board of fishing vessels under Article 7

This provision has found extensive acceptance by Member States, most of which are applying or will soon apply it. Only DE, IT, MT, NL and SE declared that the measure will not be implemented.

Socio-economic compensation under Article 8

Only foreseen by ES.

Collective actions under Article 9 and pilot projects under Article 10

These measures are or will be widely used, especially the possibility to finance energy audits. Only IT, MT, LV, IE, SI did not expressly state their intentions to implement it.

Special measures for fleets concerned by Fleet Adaptation Schemes (Articles 11 to 17 of the Restructuring Regulation)

These measures, and in particular, aid to permanent cessation under Article 14, constitute the most important part of the Restructuring Regulation since they are believed to contribute the most to a durable improvement of the resilience of the economic sector against the fluctuations of fuel prices. The basic idea is that Member States adopt fleet adaptation schemes (FAS) in order to finance the permanent withdrawal of those parts of the fleets which are highly dependent on fuel consumption, thus leaving for fishing activities only energy-efficient vessels. The remaining vessels will, in turn benefit from additional possibilities concerning temporary cessation and investments on board.

Since FAS were not contemplated in the EFF Regulation and consequently, neither the OPs, the implementation of the measures concerned required an amendment of these OPs. By the deadline of 30 June 2009, out of 22 Member States with a fishing fleet, only 7 have adopted FAS and adapted their OP consequently. These were BE, CY, DK, ES, FR, PT and RO. The expected withdrawals in terms of fishing capacity are given in the following table:

Member State | Number and size of FAS | Permanent cessation | Segments concerned |

BE | 1 FAS, 39 vessels | 2046GT, 7007kW | Beam trawlers |

CY | 1 FAS, 24 vessels | 261GT, 2128kW | Polyvalent |

DK | 1 FAS, 110 vessels | 9106GT, 23951kW | Mostly bottom trawlers, plus a few beam trawlers, seiners and gillnetters |

ES | 4 FAS, 93 vessels | 14600GT, 22309kW | Bottom trawlers, longliners |

FR | 3 FAS, 57 vessels | 939GT, 3308kW | Bottom trawlers |

PT | 2 FAS, 42 vessels | 5334GT, 13343kW | Surface longliners, dredgers, purse-seiners |

RO | 1 FAS, 2 vessels | 162GT, 444kW | Bottom trawlers |

The permanent withdrawals foreseen (physical removal of the vessels) must take effect before 31 December 2012, but the vessels should cease all fishing activity before 31 December 2009.

Partial decommissioning (Article 17)

Only BE reported a project of partial decommissioning concerning the owner of a beam trawler included in the FAS that will recover 40 GT in order to build a new, much smaller vessel in replacement of his beam trawler.

Financial provisions (Article 20).

Financial provisions are key measures of the restructuring regulation, as they alleviated the financial burden on Member States due to co-financing. In first place, the proportion of EFF participation in the public aid was increased from the general rule of 50% (75% in the case of Convergence regions) to 95% (Article 20(1)). Secondly, for projects related to investments on board the private participation has been reduced from 60% (50% in Outermost Regions) to 40% (Articles 7 and 19). Finally, Article 20(3) opened up the possibility to request a second pre-financing of 7% additional to what was foreseen in Article 81 of the EFF regulation.

As far as co-financing rates (EFF/Member States) are concerned, some member States have used this option to justify investments that otherwise would not be done with a high contribution by the State. An example of this is DK, which re-allocated EFF funds to Axis 1 (scrapping) and re-programmed Axis 2 and 3. This lead on the one hand to savings of the national contribution by EUR 29 700 000 and, on the other hand, to the granting of public aid to scrapping that had not been foreseen in the original OP. This is important because only the capacity reduced with public aid cannot be rebuilt.

Concerning public/private participation, most Member States can use this option at any point in time without a need to make strong adjustments to the financial tables of their OPs.

Finally, by the date of adoption of this report, almost all MS have requested second pre-financing payments (14 Member States in 2008 and 7 in 2009) even if some of them did not intend to implement the restructuring regulation.

Audit (Article 13(2))

As foreseen, and following the expiry of the deadline for the adoption of FAS, the Commission is in the process of signing a contract with an independent consultant in order to audit the implementation of FAS in Member States. Results are expected by the second half of 2010.

Preliminary assessment

The restructuring regulation was conceived and adopted in the context of peak prices of fuel and based on widely shared expectations that energy prices would remain on a very high level. By the second half of 2008, however, prices suddenly returned to levels well below those that launched the crisis in the sector (EUR 0'5/l) in November). Although prices have remained high (the break-even point for some fleet segments has been assessed as EUR 0'30/l), the economic prospects in the last quarter of 2008 were generally better than by the time of adoption of the regulation. The picture changed again in subsequent months since the financial crisis and subsequent economic recession put new pressure on fishing operators through contraction of demand and declining fish prices.

However, in spite of the financial and economic crises, it appears that, overall, the incentives for operators to leave the fishing activity were lower that under the fuel crisis period. Hence, there was limited recourse to measures available under Fleet Adaptation Schemes, which eventually were adopted by only few Member States. Similarly, the need for emergency relief, in particular through temporary cessation and socio-economic compensation, became less important, although in some MS (e.g. ES) important resources were freed for temporary cessation. There has been a wider use of the other general measures offered by the regulation: demand from the sector remained high for measures to support energy efficiency, in particular energy audits and on board investments.

The full effect of the restructuring regulation cannot be ascertained until all the relevant administrative decisions, which can be taken until 31 December 2010, are known and executed to a fair proportion. Until such a time, a full assessment of the effects of the implementation cannot be done. Nevertheless, at this stage it can be concluded that the restructuring package will certainly contribute to promoting more energy efficiency onboard fishing vessels, but is unlikely to make a significant contribution towards the objective of promoting a capacity reduction in those fleets that are structurally less resilient to economic pressure. As a matter of fact, the extent to which the permanent cessation under the adopted FAS increased the capacity reduction target already foreseen in the OP is relatively limited (see above table).

Finally, it has become apparent from exchanges with Member States that the lack of additional EU funds was, for some of them, limiting the implementation of the restructuring regulation. The Communication foresaw that further funds could not be obtained without a major effort by Member States to re-allocate funds to Axis 1 for a permanent restructuring of the fleets. However, this would have required corresponding reductions on other axes and most Member States have preferred to retain the national strategies agreed between national governments and consulted parties.

EFF IMPLEMENTATION TABLES

TABLE I : FINANCIAL EXECUTION CONVERGENCE

Country | Decided a | Committed b | Paid c | % (b) / (a) | % (c) / (a) |

Belgium | Period 2007-2013 | 0,00 | 0,00 | 0,00 | 0,00% | 0,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 0,00 | 0,00 | 0,00 |

Bulgaria | Period 2007-2013 | 80 009 708,00 | 14 336 687,00 | 5 600 679,56 | 17,92% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 8 517 922,00 | 8 517 922,00 | 0,00 |

Czech Republic | Period 2007-2013 | 27 106 675,00 | 6 886 504,00 | 3 794 934,50 | 25,41% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 3 526 490,00 | 3 526 490,00 | 1 897 467,25 |

Germany | Period 2007-2013 | 96 861 240,00 | 27 623 988,00 | 6 780 286,80 | 28,52% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 13 821 981,00 | 13 821 981,00 | 0,00 |

Estonia | Period 2007-2013 | 84 568 039,00 | 19 102 181,00 | 5 919 762,73 | 22,59% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 9 971 872,00 | 9 971 872,00 | 0,00 |

Greece | Period 2007-2013 | 176 836 728,00 | 51 941 240,00 | 24 757 141,92 | 29,37% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 25 849 796,00 | 25 849 796,00 | 12 378 570,96 |

Spain | Period 2007-2013 | 945 692 445,00 | 268 170 032,00 | 132 396 942,00 | 28,36% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 134 323 828,00 | 134 323 828,00 | 66 198 471,00 |

France | Period 2007-2013 | 34 250 343,00 | 9 306 303,00 | 4 795 048,00 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 4 699 222,00 | 4 699 222,00 | 2 397 524,00 |

Italy | Period 2007-2013 | 318 281 864,00 | 87 334 891,00 | 44 559 460,00 | 27,44% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 44 016 945,00 | 44 016 945,00 | 22 279 730,00 |

Latvia | Period 2007-2013 | 125 015 563,00 | 28 485 267,00 | 8 751 089,00 | 22,79% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 14 887 723,00 | 14 887 723,00 | 0,00 |

Lithuania | Period 2007-2013 | 54 713 408,00 | 13 915 847,00 | 3 829 938,56 | 25,43% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 6 978 531,00 | 6 978 531,00 | 0,00 |

Hungary | Period 2007-2013 | 34 291 357,00 | 5 456 086,00 | 2 400 394,99 | 15,91% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 5 456 086,00 | 5 456 086,00 | 2 400 394,99 |

Malta | Period 2007-2013 | 8 372 329,00 | 1 422 356,00 | 586 063,03 | 16,99% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 1 422 356,00 | 1 422 356,00 | 586 063,03 |

Austria | Period 2007-2013 | 187 326,00 | 61 040,00 | 13 112,82 | 32,58% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 29 837,00 | 29 837,00 | 0,00 |

Poland | Period 2007-2013 | 734 092 574,00 | 120 001 664,00 | 51 386 480,18 | 16,35% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 120 001 664,00 | 120 001 664,00 | 51 386 480,18 |

Portugal | Period 2007-2013 | 223 943 059,00 | 61 518 869,00 | 31 352 028,00 | 27,47% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 30 998 886,00 | 30 998 886,00 | 15 676 014,00 |

Romania | Period 2007-2013 | 230 714 207,00 | 37 284 577,00 | 32 299 988,49 | 16,16% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 22 157 050,00 | 22 157 050,00 | 17 172 461,49 |

Slovenia | Period 2007-2013 | 21 640 283,00 | 4 110 308,00 | 1 514 819,81 | 18,99% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 4 110 308,00 | 4 110 308,00 | 1 514 819,81 |

Slovakia | Period 2007-2013 | 12 681 459,00 | 3 625 757,00 | 1 775 404,26 | 28,59% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 1 776 374,00 | 1 776 374,00 | 887 702,13 |

United Kingdom | Period 2007-2013 | 43 150 701,00 | 7 132 154,00 | 3 020 549,07 | 16,53% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 7 132 154,00 | 7 132 154,00 | 3 020 549,07 |

Total Convergence | Period 2007-2013 | 3 252 409 308,00 | 767 715 751,00 | 365 534 123,72 | 23,60% | 11,24% |

Financial year: 2008 | 459 679 025,00 | 459 679 025,00 | 197 796 247,91 |

TABLE II : FINANCIAL EXECUTION NON CONVERGENCE

Country | Decided a | Committed b | Paid c | % (b) / (a) | % (c) / (a) |

Belgium | Period 2007-2013 | 26 261 648,00 | 4 191 906,00 | 1 838 315,00 | 15,96% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 4 191 906,00 | 4 191 906,00 | 1 838 315,00 |

Denmark | Period 2007-2013 | 133 675 169,00 | 36 321 435,00 | 9 357 261,83 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 18 340 527,00 | 18 340 527,00 | 0,00 |

Germany | Period 2007-2013 | 59 004 177,00 | 16 032 272,00 | 4 130 292,39 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 8 095 504,00 | 8 095 504,00 | 0,00 |

Ireland | Period 2007-2013 | 42 266 603,00 | 6 746 632,00 | 2 958 662,00 | 15,96% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 6 746 632,00 | 6 746 632,00 | 2 958 662,00 |

Greece | Period 2007-2013 | 30 995 509,00 | 8 421 917,00 | 4 339 371,26 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 4 252 651,00 | 4 252 651,00 | 2 169 685,63 |

Spain | Period 2007-2013 | 186 198 467,00 | 50 592 760,00 | 26 067 784,00 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 25 546 840,00 | 25 546 840,00 | 13 033 892,00 |

France | Period 2007-2013 | 181 802 741,00 | 49 398 378,00 | 25 452 382,00 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 24 943 736,00 | 24 943 736,00 | 12 726 191,00 |

Italy | Period 2007-2013 | 106 060 990,00 | 28 818 271,00 | 14 848 538,00 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 14 551 800,00 | 14 551 800,00 | 7 424 269,00 |

Cyprus | Period 2007-2013 | 19 724 418,00 | 5 359 405,00 | 2 761 418,52 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 2 706 234,00 | 2 706 234,00 | 2 761 418,52 |

Hungary | Period 2007-2013 | 559 503,00 | 89 023,00 | 39 165,21 | 15,91% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 89 023,00 | 89 023,00 | 39 165,21 |

Nederlands | Period 2007-2013 | 48 578 417,00 | 13 199 443,00 | 3 400 489,19 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 6 665 065,00 | 6 665 065,00 | 0,00 |

Austria | Period 2007-2013 | 5 071 992,00 | 1 378 131,00 | 692 534,44 | 27,17% | 13,65% |

Financial year: 2008 | 695 888,00 | 695 888,00 | 337 495,00 |

Portugal | Period 2007-2013 | 22 542 190,00 | 6 125 032,00 | 3 155 906,00 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 3 092 838,00 | 3 092 838,00 | 1 577 953,00 |

Slovakia | Period 2007-2013 | 1 007 069,00 | 287 931,00 | 140 989,66 | 28,59% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 141 066,00 | 141 066,00 | 70 494,83 |

Finland | Period 2007-2013 | 39 448 827,00 | 10 718 803,00 | 2 761 417,89 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 5 412 465,00 | 5 412 465,00 | 0,00 |

Sweden | Period 2007-2013 | 54 664 803,00 | 14 853 199,00 | 3 826 536,00 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 7 500 130,00 | 7 500 130,00 | 0,00 |

United Kingdom | Period 2007-2013 | 94 677 188,00 | 15 112 454,00 | 6 627 403,16 | 15,96% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 15 112 454,00 | 15 112 454,00 | 6 627 403,16 |

Total non convergence | Period 2007-2013 | 1 052 539 711,00 | 267 646 992,00 | 112 398 466,55 | 25,43% | 10,68% |

Financial year: 2008 | 148 084 759,00 | 148 084 759,00 | 51 564 944,35 |

TABLE III: FINANCIAL EXECUTION CONVERGENCE AND NON CONVERGENCE

Country | Decided a | Committed b | Paid c | % (b) / (a) | % (c) / (a) |

Belgium | Period 2007-2013 | 26 261 648,00 | 4 191 906,00 | 1 838 315,00 | 15,96% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 4 191 906,00 | 4 191 906,00 | 1 838 315,00 |

Bulgaria | Period 2007-2013 | 80 009 708,00 | 14 336 687,00 | 5 600 679,56 | 17,92% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 8 517 922,00 | 8 517 922,00 | 0,00 |

Czech Republic | Period 2007-2013 | 27 106 675,00 | 6 886 504,00 | 3 794 934,50 | 25,41% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 3 526 490,00 | 3 526 490,00 | 1 897 467,25 |

Denmark | Period 2007-2013 | 133 675 169,00 | 36 321 435,00 | 9 357 261,83 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 18 340 527,00 | 18 340 527,00 | 0,00 |

Germany | Period 2007-2013 | 155 865 417,00 | 43 656 260,00 | 10 910 579,19 | 28,01% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 21 917 485,00 | 21 917 485,00 | 0,00 |

Estonia | Period 2007-2013 | 84 568 039,00 | 19 102 181,00 | 5 919 762,73 | 22,59% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 9 971 872,00 | 9 971 872,00 | 0,00 |

Ireland | Period 2007-2013 | 42 266 603,00 | 6 746 632,00 | 2 958 662,00 | 15,96% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 6 746 632,00 | 6 746 632,00 | 2 958 662,00 |

Greece | Period 2007-2013 | 207 832 237,00 | 60 363 157,00 | 29 096 513,18 | 29,04% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 30 102 447,00 | 30 102 447,00 | 14 548 256,59 |

Spain | Period 2007-2013 | 1 131 890 912,00 | 318 762 792,00 | 158 464 726,00 | 28,16% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 159 870 668,00 | 159 870 668,00 | 79 232 363,00 |

France | Period 2007-2013 | 216 053 084,00 | 58 704 681,00 | 30 247 430,00 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 29 642 958,00 | 29 642 958,00 | 15 123 715,00 |

Italy | Period 2007-2013 | 424 342 854,00 | 116 153 162,00 | 59 407 998,00 | 27,37% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 58 568 745,00 | 58 568 745,00 | 29 703 999,00 |

Cyprus | Period 2007-2013 | 19 724 418,00 | 5 359 405,00 | 2 761 418,52 | 27,17% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 2 706 234,00 | 2 706 234,00 | 2 761 418,52 |

Latvia | Period 2007-2013 | 125 015 563,00 | 28 485 267,00 | 8 751 089,00 | 22,79% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 14 887 723,00 | 14 887 723,00 | 0,00 |

Lithuania | Period 2007-2013 | 54 713 408,00 | 13 915 847,00 | 3 829 938,56 | 25,43% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 6 978 531,00 | 6 978 531,00 | 0,00 |

Luxembourg | Period 2007-2013 | 0,00 | 0,00 | 0,00 | 0,00% | 0,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 0,00 | 0,00 | 0,00 |

Hungary | Period 2007-2013 | 34 850 860,00 | 5 545 109,00 | 2 439 560,20 | 15,91% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 5 545 109,00 | 5 545 109,00 | 2 439 560,20 |

Malta | Period 2007-2013 | 8 372 329,00 | 1 422 356,00 | 586 063,03 | 16,99% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 1 422 356,00 | 1 422 356,00 | 586 063,03 |

Nederlands | Period 2007-2013 | 48 578 417,00 | 13 199 443,00 | 3 400 489,19 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 6 665 065,00 | 6 665 065,00 | 0,00 |

Austria | Period 2007-2013 | 5 259 318,00 | 1 439 171,00 | 705 647,26 | 27,36% | 13,42% |

Financial year: 2008 | 725 725,00 | 725 725,00 | 337 495,00 |

Poland | Period 2007-2013 | 734 092 574,00 | 120 001 664,00 | 51 386 480,18 | 16,35% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 120 001 664,00 | 120 001 664,00 | 51 386 480,18 |

Portugal | Period 2007-2013 | 246 485 249,00 | 67 643 901,00 | 34 507 934,00 | 27,44% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 34 091 724,00 | 34 091 724,00 | 17 253 967,00 |

Romania | Period 2007-2013 | 230 714 207,00 | 37 284 577,00 | 32 299 988,49 | 16,16% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 22 157 050,00 | 22 157 050,00 | 17 172 461,49 |

Slovenia | Period 2007-2013 | 21 640 283,00 | 4 110 308,00 | 1 514 819,81 | 18,99% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 4 110 308,00 | 4 110 308,00 | 1 514 819,81 |

Slovakia | Period 2007-2013 | 13 688 528,00 | 3 913 688,00 | 1 916 393,92 | 28,59% | 14,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 1 917 440,00 | 1 917 440,00 | 958 196,96 |

Finland | Period 2007-2013 | 39 448 827,00 | 10 718 803,00 | 2 761 417,89 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 5 412 465,00 | 5 412 465,00 | 0,00 |

Sweden | Period 2007-2013 | 54 664 803,00 | 14 853 199,00 | 3 826 536,00 | 27,17% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 7 500 130,00 | 7 500 130,00 | 0,00 |

United Kingdom | Period 2007-2013 | 137 827 889,00 | 22 244 608,00 | 9 647 952,23 | 16,14% | 7,00% |

Financial year: 2008 | 22 244 608,00 | 22 244 608,00 | 9 647 952,23 |

Total convergence and non convergence | Period 2007-2013 | 4 304 949 019,00 | 1 035 362 743,00 | 477 932 590,27 | 24,05% | 11,10% |

Financial year: 2008 | 607 763 784,00 | 607 763 784,00 | 249 361 192,26 |

TABLE IV OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMES ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION IN 2008

Country | EFF Amount | Decision Date | Decision number |

BE | Belgium | 26.261.648 | 11/11/2008 | C(2008) 6895 |

IE | Ireland | 42.266.603 | 9/09/2008 | C(2008)4993 |

HU | Hungary | 34.850.860 | 9/09/2008 | C(2008)4684 |

MT | Malta | 8.372.329 | 10/12/2008 | C(2008)8380 |

PL | Poland | 734.092.574 | 16/10/2008 | C(2008)6007 |

SI | Slovenia | 21.640.283 | 19/11/2008 | C(2008)7279 |

UK | United Kingdom | 137.827.889 | 9/09/2008 | C(2008)4994 |

TOTAL | 1.005.312.186 |

TABLE V EFF BREAKDOWN BY PRIORITY AXIS AND BY MEMBER STATE

Country | Priority axis 1 | Priority axis 2 | Priority axis 3 | Priority axis 4 | Priority axis 5 | Total |

|Amount |% |Amount |% |Amount |% |Amount |% |Amount |% | | | BE |Belgium | 7.561.648 |28,79 |5.000.000 |19,04 |9.488.352 |36,13 |2.900.000 |11,04 |1.311.648 |4,99 | 26.261.648 | | BG |Bulgaria | 8.000.970 |10,00 |36.004.371 |45,00 |20.002.426 |25,00 |12.001.456 |15,00 |4.000.485 |5,00 | 80.009.708 | | CZ |Czech Republic | - |- |11.926.937 |44,00 |13.824.404 |51,00 |- |- |1.355.334 |5,00 | 27.106.675 | | DK |Denmark | 21.365.342 |15,98 |47.149.524 |35,27 |46.015.266 |34,42 |12.461.279 |9,32 |6.683.758 |5,00 | 133.675.169 | | DE |Germany | 8.145.000 |5,23 |57.560.225 |36,93 |68.687.844 |44,07 |19.438.000 |12,47 |2.034.348 |1,31 | 155.865.417 | | EE |Estonia | 15.264.531 |18,05 |24.583.929 |29,07 |21.209.664 |25,08 |19.281.513 |22,80 |4.228.402 |5,00 | 84.568.039 | | IE |Ireland | 34.766.000 |82,25 |- |- |6.000.000 |14,20 |1.500.603 |3,55 |- |- | 42.266.603 | | EL |Greece | 77.272.459 |37,18 |59.689.538 |28,72 |32.320.240 |15,55 |33.300.000 |16,02 |5.250.000 |2,53 | 207.832.237 | | ES |Spain | 403.067.965 |35,61 |344.241.335 |30,41 |316.510.945 |27,96 |49.336.048 |4,36 |18.734.619 |1,66 | 1.131.890.912 | | FR |France | 59.621.494 |27,60 |63.029.212 |29,17 |85.049.416 |39,37 |5.699.644 |2,64 |2.653.318 |1,23 | 216.053.084 | | IT |Italy | 161.250.284 |38,00 |106.085.713 |25,00 |106.085.713 |25,00 |16.973.714 |4,00 |33.947.430 |8,00 | 424.342.854 | | CY |Cyprus | 2.200.000 |11,15 |3.250.000 |16,48 |12.924.418 |65,52 |1.000.000 |5,07 |350.000 |1,77 | 19.724.418 | | LV |Latvia | 20.860.942 |16,69 |46.128.750 |36,90 |24.153.000 |19,32 |28.911.476 |23,13 |4.961.395 |3,97 | 125.015.563 | | LT |Lithuania | 13.667.647 |24,98 |22.431.005 |41,00 |9.249.241 |16,90 |6.693.770 |12,23 |2.671.745 |4,88 | 54.713.408 | | HU |Hungary | - |- |24.163.925 |69,34 |8.944.392 |25,66 |- |- |1.742.543 |5,00 | 34.850.860 | | MT |Malta | 2.175.000 |25,98 |1.760.250 |21,02 |4.095.079 |48,91 |- |- |342.000 |4,08 | 8.372.329 | | NL |Netherlands | 16.913.233 |34,82 |7.379.398 |15,19 |16.903.461 |34,80 |4.987.125 |10,27 |2.395.200 |4,93 | 48.578.417 | | AT |Austria | - |- |5.164.318 |98,19 |50.000 |0,95 |- |- |45.000 |0,86 | 5.259.318 | | PL |Poland | 168.841.292 |23,00 |146.818.515 |20,00 |146.818.515 |20,00 |234.909.624 |32,00 |36.704.628 |5,00 | 734.092.574 | | PT |Portugal | 53.065.134 |21,53 |78.058.495 |31,67 |90.026.920 |36,52 |17.403.406 |7,06 |7.931.294 |3,22 | 246.485.249 | | RO |Romania | 9.975.000 |4,32 |105.000.000 |45,51 |30.000.000 |13,00 |75.000.000 |32,51 |10.739.207 |4,65 | 230.714.207 | | SI |Slovenia | 2.164.029 |10,00 |7.141.293 |33,00 |7.574.097 |35,00 |2.164.029 |10,00 |2.596.835 |12,00 | 21.640.283 | | SK |Slovakia | - |- |10.467.810 |76,47 |2.536.292 |18,53 |- |- |684.426 |5,00 | 13.688.528 | | FI |Finland | 3.445.000 |8,73 |16.990.000 |43,07 |14.783.827 |37,48 |3.606.000 |9,14 |624.000 |1,58 | 39.448.827 | | SE |Sweden | 13.666.201 |25,00 |10.932.961 |20,00 |19.132.681 |35,00 |8.199.720 |15,00 |2.733.240 |5,00 | 54.664.803 | | UK |United Kingdom | 39.634.805 |28,76 |33.589.711 |24,37 |49.620.896 |36,00 |11.598.450 |8,42 |3.384.027 |2,46 | 137.827.889 | | Grand Total |1.142.923.976 |26,55 |1.274.547.215 |29,61 |1.162.007.089 |26,99 |567.365.857 |13,18 |158.104.882 |3,67 |4.304.949.019 | |

For ease of reference, please refer to the legend below:

Priority axis 1: measures for the adaptation of the EU fishing fleet

Priority axis 2: aquaculture, inland fishing, processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products

Priority axis 3: measures of common interest

Priority axis 4: sustainable development of fisheries areas

Priority axis 5: technical assistance

[1] The reporting on the implementation of the FIFG for the period 2000-2006 was included in the "Annual Report on the Implementation of Structural Funds"

[2] Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of 27 July 2006 on the European Fisheries Fund, OJ L 223,

15.8.2006, p 1

[3] Council Regulation (EC) No 744/2008 of 24 July 2008 instituting a temporary specific action to promote the restructuring of the European EU fishing fleets affected by the economic crisis, OJ L 202, 31.7.2008, p. 1

[4] Priority axis 1: measures for the adaptation of the EU fishing fleet

Priority axis 2: aquaculture, inland fishing, processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products

Priority axis 3: measures of common interest

Priority axis 4: sustainable development of fisheries areas

Priority axis 5: technical assistance

[5] NB: Although the deadline for the submission of AR was 30 June 2009 the Commission has not yet receive and accepted all Annual reports on implementation in 2008. Thus the information provided in this report is not complete.

[6] http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/meetings_events/events/archives/events_2008/conference_180208_en.htm