Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 as regards specific measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in the fishery and aquaculture sector
Date: 2020-04-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU aid, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, aquaculture, cessation of farming, common fisheries policy, epidemic, fishing industry, infectious disease, storage of food

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 2.4.2020  COM(2020) 142 final 2020/0059 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 as regards specific measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in the fishery and aquaculture sector   
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the Member States in  a sudden  and dramatic manner, 
with  a  major  impact  on  their  societies  and  economies,  as  economic  activity  decelerates 
sharply. This has created an exceptional situation for the whole EU that necessitates that all 
available  resources,  at  Union  and  Member  State  level,  are  mobilised  to  overcome  the 
unprecedented challenges related to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

On  13  March  2020,  the  Commission  proposed  a  “Coronavirus  Response  Investment 
Initiative”  directed  at  promoting  investments  by  mobilising  available  cash  reserves  in  the 
European  Structural  and  Investments  Funds,  to  fight  the  crisis  immediately.  On  19  March 
2020, the Commission adopted a new State Aid Framework. 

However,  Member  States’  scope  for  intervention  in  the  area  of  fisheries  is  restricted  by  the 
provisions of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund  (EMFF), which does  not  presently 
offer support for the most urgently needed actions to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 
outbreak. Those limitations restrict Member States’ ability to use the EMFF to fight the crisis. 

The  fishery  and  aquaculture  sector  has  been  particularly  hard  hit  by  the  market  disruption 
generated by a significant drop in demand. The closure of sales venues, markets, outlets and 
distribution channels has seen prices and volumes drop substantially. The drop in demand and 
prices  combined  with  the  vulnerability  and  complexity  of  the  supply  chain  (perishable 
products,  important  need  of  workforce)  made  the  operations  of  fishing  fleets  and  seafood 
production  loss-making.  Consequently,  fishers  are  forced  to  stay  in  port  and  aquaculture 
producers  will  have  to  discard  or  destroy  products  within  weeks  or  face  exceptional  stock 
management  costs,  including  more  space  and  feed  for  grown  out  fish  that  cannot  be 
slaughtered due to drop in demand. The rapid decline particularly affects small-scale coastal 
fishing operators and fish producers.   

Because the end of the current crisis cannot be predicted, it can rapidly lead to a cessation of 
activities and of businesses in a sector that is very sensitive to cyclical variations. This crisis 
can consequently have dramatic socio-economic consequences in certain communities where 
fishing and aquaculture play a key role. Small-scale coastal fisheries represent close to 75% of 
all  active  vessels  and  over  55%  of  direct  employment;  they  constitute  the  main  economic 
activity in many coastal areas. The fish farming sector sustains coastal communities and rural 
areas.  Fishing  and  aquaculture  operators,  being  mostly  micro-enterprises,  often  lack  the 
financial reserves to cover on-going costs. Once their operation ceases, marketing chains will 
be interrupted.  

Unlike  most  other  sectors  of  the  economy,  fisheries  are  subject  to  the  Union’s  exclusive 
competence  and  are  regulated  at  Union  level  through  a  common  policy,  thereby  largely 
excluding national regulations, including those in respect of financial support. The conditions 
for public support are governed by the EMFF.  

The  Commission  is  therefore  adopting  a  legislative  proposal  to  amend  Regulation  (EU)  No 
508/2014  (the  EMFF  Regulation),  as  well  as  Regulation  (EU)  No  1379/2013  (the  CMO 
Regulation) to introduce specific measures in the EMFF to mitigate the impact of the COVID-
19 outbreak in the fishery and aquaculture sector.  

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2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

Articles 43(2) and 175 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.  

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

Provisions of the proposal are implemented within the framework of shared management, in 
accordance with the Financial Regulation.  

• 

Proportionality 

The  proposed  provisions  comply  with  the  proportionality  principle  as  they  are  appropriate, 
necessary  and  no  other  less  restrictive  measures  are  available  to  obtain  the  desired  policy 
objectives.  

• 

Choice of the instrument 

Proposed instrument: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. 

3. 

CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  proposed  specific  measures  to  mitigate  the  impact  of  the  COVID-19  outbreak  in  the 
fishery and aquaculture sector comprise: 

– 

– 

– 

support to  fishermen for the temporary  cessation of fishing activities  caused by the 
COVID-19 outbreak, 

support  to  aquaculture  farmers  for  the  temporary  suspension  or  the  reduction  of 
production caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, 

support to producer organisations and associations of producer organisations for the 
storage of fishery and aquaculture products, in accordance with the Common Market 
Organisation. 

It  is  proposed  that  these  measures  are  retroactively  eligible  as  of  1  February  2020  and 
available until 31 December 2020.  

Additional  amendments  to  the  EMFF  Regulation  aim  to  ensure  a  flexible  reallocation  of 
financial resources within the operational programmes: 

– 

– 

a deletion of the ring-fenced amounts in Article 13, with the exception of those for 
fisheries control, collection of scientific data and compensation of additional costs in 
the outermost regions, 

a modification of the simplified procedure for amending operational programmes, in 
view  of  the  introduction  of  the  specific  measures  and  the  reallocation  of  financial 
resources thereto. 

The specific EMFF measures are complemented by an amendment to the CMO Regulation to: 

– 

– 

enable resort to the storage mechanism if Member States have not set and published 
trigger prices, 

allow aquaculture producer organisations to benefit from the storage mechanism. 

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4.  

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

The  Commission  consulted  with  stakeholders  by  seeking  the  input  of  fisheries  and 
aquaculture producer organisations, Advisory Councils, and receiving feedback about market 
developments  and  possible  relief  measures  from  industry  associations,  individual  operators 
and Member States. The stakeholders’ assessment of the crisis situation and of how to fight its 
effects  is  almost  entirely coherent  and unanimous. The Commission took that feedback into 
account in preparing this proposal. 

5. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The  proposed  modification  does  not  imply  any  changes  in  the  Multiannual  Financial 
Framework  annual  ceilings  for  commitments  and  payments  as  per  Annex  I  of  Regulation 
(EU)  No  1311/2013.  The  annual  breakdown  of  commitment  appropriations  for  the  EMFF 
remains unchanged. 

With  fishing  and  aquaculture  activities  locked  down  or  significantly  reduced,  there  is  little 
room  for  implementing  the  current  EMFF  measures  and  operational  programmes  normally. 
Without  an  effective  counter  to  the  crisis,  the  EMFF  stands  little  chance  of  being  fully 
implemented by the end of the current programming period. Member States should therefore 
have  the  possibility  to  reallocate  at  short  notice  existing  financial  resources  within  their 
operational programme to the specific measures. That possibility will be limited by the budget 
allocations that Member States have already received, which they cannot exceed. 

The available payment appropriations in the 2020 budget for the EMFF can accommodate a 
shift between Union Priorities within operational programmes. The new measures will in fact 
to a large extent replace initially planned initiatives, which are now being stopped due to the 
general decline of economic activity. By consequence, the proposed measures aim to ensure 
an effective implementation of the 2020 budget and the 2014-2020 allocation for the EMFF.  

The Commission will carefully monitor the impact of the proposed modification on payment 
appropriations in 2020 taking into account both the implementation of the budget and revised 
Member States forecasts. 

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2020/0059 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 as regards 
specific measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in the fishery and 
aquaculture sector 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Articles 43(2)and 175 thereof,  

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  fishery  and  aquaculture  sector  has  been  particularly  hard  hit  by  the  market 
disruption  generated  by  a  significant  drop  in  demand  ensuing  from  the  COVID-19 
outbreak. The closure of sales venues, markets,  outlets  and distribution  channels  has 
seen prices and volumes drop substantially. The drop in demand and prices combined 
with  the  vulnerability  and  complexity  of  the  supply  chain  made  the  operations  of 
fishing fleets and seafood production loss-making. Consequently, fishers are forced to 
stay in port and fish farmers will have to discard or destroy products within weeks.  

It  should  be  possible  for  the  European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  (EMFF) 
established  by  Regulation  (EU)  No  508/20142  to  support  specific  measures  until  31 
December 2020 to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in the fishery and 
aquaculture  sector.  These  measures  should  comprise  support  for  the  temporary 
cessation  of  fishing  activities,  including  for  inland  fishing,  and  for  the  temporary 
suspension  or  the  reduction  of  aquaculture  production,  provided  that  they  are  the 
consequence  of  the  COVID-19  outbreak.  These  specific  measures  should  also 
comprise support to producer organisations and associations of producer organisations 
for  the  storage  of  fishery  and  aquaculture  products  in  accordance  with  Regulation 
(EU)  No 1379/20133.  Expenditure  for  operations  supported  under  these  measures 
should be eligible as of 1 February 2020. 

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OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the  Council of 15 May 2014 on the 
European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  and  repealing  Council  Regulations  (EC)  No 2328/2003,  (EC) 
No 861/2006,  (EC)  No 1198/2006  and  (EC)  No 791/2007  and  Regulation  (EU)  No 1255/2011  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, p. 1). 
Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on 
the  common  organisation  of  the  markets  in  fishery  and  aquaculture  products,  amending  Council 

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

The resources available  for commitments from  the EMFF under shared  management 
should  be  broken  down  in  a  way  that  ensures  that  fixed  amounts  are  established  for 
fisheries  control,  the  collection  of  scientific  data  and  the  compensation  of  additional 
costs in the outermost regions. The other resources under shared management should 
be allocated by Member States on the basis of their needs. 

Given  the  significant  socio-economic  consequences  of  the  COVID-19  outbreak  and 
the need for liquidity in  the economy, it should be possible to support the temporary 
cessation  of  fishing  activities  caused  by  the  COVID-19  outbreak  crisis  with  a 
maximum co-financing rate of 75 % of eligible public expenditure. 

Given the need for flexibility in the reallocation of financial resources to address the 
consequences  of  the  COVID-19  outbreak,  support  for  the  temporary  cessation  of 
fishing activities caused by this outbreak should not be subject to a financial capping. 
This should be without prejudice to the existing financial capping for the other cases 
of  temporary  cessation.  The  obligation  to  deduct  support  granted  for  temporary 
cessation from support granted for the permanent cessation of fishing activities to the 
same vessel should continue to apply. 

Given the urgency of the support needed, it should be possible to extend the scope of 
the simplified procedure to include amendments to operational programmes related to 
the specific measures and the reallocation of financial resources thereto to address the 
consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak. This simplified procedure should cover all 
the  amendments  necessary  for  a  full  implementation  of  the  measures  concerned, 
including their introduction and the description of the methods for calculating support. 

Given the key role played by producer organisations in the management of the crisis, 
the ceiling for support to production and marketing plans should be increased to 12 % 
of the average annual value of the production placed on the market. It should also be 
possible for Member States to grant advances up to 100 % of the financial support to 
producer organisations for this support. 

The sudden disruptions of fishery and aquaculture activities ensuing from the COVID-
19 outbreak, and the resulting risk of jeopardising markets of fishery and aquaculture 
products,  make  it  appropriate  to  set  up  a  mechanism  for  storing  fishery  and 
aquaculture  products  for  human  consumption.  This  will  aim  to  foster  greater  market 
stability, mitigate the risk of having such products wasted or redirected to non-human 
food  purposes,  and  contribute  to  absorbing  the  impact  of  the  crisis  on  the  return  on 
products.  That  mechanism  should  enable  fishery  and  aquaculture  producers  to  make 
use of the same preservation or conservation techniques for similar species to ensure 
that fair competition between producers is maintained. 

(9) 

Given  the  suddenness  and  magnitude  of  the  contraction  of  demand  for  fishery  and 
aquaculture products resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, it should be possible to 
increase the quantities eligible for storage aid to 25 % of the annual quantities of the 
products concerned put up for sale by the producer organisation concerned. 

(10)  To enable Member States to react promptly to the suddenness and unpredictability of 
the COVID-19 outbreak, they should be entitled to set trigger prices for their producer 
organisations to  trigger the storage mechanism.  These trigger prices should  be set  in 
such a way that fair competition between operators is maintained. 

Regulations  (EC)  No 1184/2006  and  (EC)  No 1224/2009  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EC) 
No 104/2000 (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 1). 

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(11)  Given  the  urgency  of  the  support  needed,  this  Regulation  should  enter  into  force  as 

soon as possible. 

(12)  Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 should therefore be 

amended accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 
Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 

Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 13 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 13 
Budgetary resources under shared management 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The resources available for commitments from the EMFF for the period from 2014 to 
2020  under  shared  management  shall  be  EUR  5 749 331 600  in  current  prices  in 
accordance with the annual breakdown set out in Annex II. 

EUR  580 000 000  of  the  budgetary  resources  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  be 
allocated to the control and enforcement measures referred to in Article 76. 

EUR  520 000 000  of  the  budgetary  resources  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  be 
allocated to the measures on data collection referred to in Article 77. 

EUR  192 500 000  of  the  budgetary  resources  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  be 
allocated to the compensation of outermost regions under Chapter V of Title V. That 
compensation shall not exceed, per year: 

(a)  EUR 6 450 000 for the Azores and Madeira; 

(b)  EUR 8 700 000 for the Canary Islands; 

(c)  EUR  12 350 000  for  the  French  outermost  regions  referred  to  in  Article  349 

TFEU. 

5. 

Member  States  shall  have  the  possibility  to  use  interchangeably  the  resources 
available under paragraphs 2 and 3.”; 

(2) 

Article 16(1) is amended as follows: 

“1. The resources available for commitments by Member States referred to in Article 
13(1) for the period from 2014 to 2020, as set out in the table in Annex II, shall be 
determined on the basis of the following objective criteria:”; 

(3) 

In Article 22(2), the following point (e) is added: 

“(e)  amendments  to  operational  programmes  concerning  the  support  referred  to  in 
Articles  33(1)(d),  35,  44(4a),  55(1)(b),  57,  66  and  67,  including  the  reallocation  of 
financial resources thereto to address the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak.”; 

(4) 

Article 22(3) is amended as follows: 

“3. Paragraph 2 shall not  apply to  the support  referred to  in  Article 33(1)(a) to  (c), 
Article 34 and Article 41(2).”; 

(5) 

Article 25(3) is amended as follows: 

“3. Without prejudice to paragraph 5, the total financial contribution from the EMFF 
to  the  measures  referred  to  in  Article  33(1)(a)  to  (c)  and  in  Article  34  and  to  the 

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replacement or modernisation of main or ancillary engines referred to in Article 41, 
shall not exceed the higher of the following two thresholds:”; 

(6) 

Article 33(1) and (2) are amended as follows:  

“1. The EMFF may support measures for temporary cessation of fishing activities in 
the following cases:  

(a)  the  implementation  of  Commission  measures  or  Member  States  emergency 
measures  referred  to  in  Articles  12  and  13,  respectively,  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1380/2013  or  of  conservation  measures  referred  to  in  Article  7  of  that  Regulation, 
including biological recovery periods;  

(b)  a  non-renewal  of  Sustainable  fisheries  partnership  agreements  or  protocols 
thereto;  

(c) where the temporary cessation is provided for in a management plan adopted in 
accordance  with  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1967/2006  or  in  a  multiannual  plan 
adopted under Articles 9 and 10 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, where, based on 
scientific  advice,  a  reduction  of  fishing  effort  is  needed  in  order  to  achieve  the 
objectives referred to in Article 2(2) and point (a) of Article 2(5) of Regulation (EU) 
No 1380/2013; 

(d) where the temporary cessation occurs between 1 February and 31 December 2020 
as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak, including for vessels operating under a 
Sustainable fisheries partnership agreement. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article  65(9)  of  Regulation 
(EU)  No  1303/2013,  expenditure  for  operations  supported  under  point  (d)  shall  be 
eligible as of 1 February 2020. 

2.  The  support  referred  to  in  points  (a)  to  (c)  of  paragraph  1  may  be  granted  for  a 
maximum  duration  of  six  months  per  vessel  during  the  period  from  2014  to  2020. 
This maximum duration shall not apply to the support referred to in point (d) of that 
paragraph.”; 

(7) Article 44 is amended as follows: 

(a) the following paragraph 4a is added: 

“4a. The EMFF may support measures  for temporary cessation  of fishing activities 
caused  by  the  COVID-19  outbreak,  as  provided  for  in  Article  33(1)(d),  under  the 
conditions laid down in Article 33.”; 

(b) paragraph 5 is amended as follows: 

“5. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 4a: 

references  made  in  Articles  30,  32,  33,  38,  39,  41  and  42  to  fishing  vessels 

(a) 
shall be understood as references to vessels operating exclusively in inland waters; 

(b) references made in Article 38 to the marine environment shall be understood as 
references to the environment in which the inland fishing vessel operates.”; 

(8) Article 55 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 55 
Public health measures 

1. 

The EMFF may support the following compensation schemes: 

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(a)  compensation to  mollusc farmers for the temporary suspension of harvesting of 
farmed  molluscs,  where  such  suspension  occurs  exclusively  for  reasons  of  public 
health; 

(b)  compensation  to  aquaculture  farmers  for  the  temporary  suspension  or  the 
reduction  of  production  occurred  between  1  February  and  31  December  2020,  as  a 
consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak. 

2. 

Support  under  paragraph  1(a)  may  only  be  granted  where  the  suspension  of 
harvesting due to  the contamination  of molluscs is  the result of the proliferation of 
toxin-producing  plankton  or  the  presence  of  plankton  containing  biotoxins,  and 
provided that: 

(a) the contamination lasts for more than four consecutive months; or 

(b) the loss, resulting from the suspension of harvesting, amounts to more than 25 % 
of  the  annual  turnover  of  the  business  concerned,  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the 
average turnover of that business over the three calendar years preceding the year in 
which the harvest was suspended. 

For the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph, Member States may establish 
special  calculation  rules  in  respect  of  companies  with  less  than  three  years  of 
activity. 

3. 

The duration for which compensation under paragraph 1(a) may be granted shall be a 
maximum of 12 months over the entire programming period. In duly justified cases, 
it  may  be  extended  once  for  a  maximum  of  an  additional  12  months  up  to  a 
combined maximum of 24 months. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article  65(9)  of  Regulation 
(EU) No 1303/2013, expenditure for operations supported under paragraph 1(b) shall 
be eligible as of 1 February 2020.”; 

(9) Article 66(3) and (4) are amended as follows: 

“3.  Support  granted  per  producer  organisation  per  year  under  this  Article  shall  not 
exceed 12 % of the average annual value of the production placed on the market by 
that producer organisation during the preceding three calendar years. For any newly 
recognised producer organisation, that support shall not exceed 12 % of the average 
annual  value  of  the  production  placed  on  the  market  by  the  members  of  that 
organisation during the preceding three calendar years.” 

“4. The Member State concerned may grant an advance ranging between 50 % and 
100 % of the financial support after approval of the production and marketing plan in 
accordance with Article 28(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013.”; 

(10) Article 67(1) and (2) are amended as follows: 

“1.  Where  this  is  needed  to  respond  to  the  COVID-19  outbreak,  the  EMFF  may 
support  compensation  to  recognised  producer  organisations  and  associations  of 
producers organisations which store fishery or aquaculture products listed in  Annex 
II  to  Regulation  (EU)  No  1379/2013  or  products  of  the  CN  code  0302  listed  in 
Annex I, section (a) of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013, provided that those products 
are stored in accordance with Articles 30 and 31 of Regulation  (EU) No 1379/2013 
and subject to the following conditions: 

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(a) 
the amount of the storage aid does not exceed the amount of the technical and 
financial costs of the actions required for the stabilisation and storage of the products 
in question; 

(b) the quantities eligible for storage aid do not exceed 25 % of the annual quantities 
of the products concerned put up for sale by the producer organisation; 

(c) the financial support per year does not exceed 20 % of the average annual value 
of the production placed on the market by the members of the producer organisation 
in the period 2017-2019. 

For  the  purposes  of  point  (c)  of  the  first  subparagraph,  where  a  member  of  the 
producer organisation did not have any production placed on the market in the period 
2017  to  2019,  the  average  annual  value  of  production  placed  on  the  market  in  the 
first three years of production of that member shall be taken into account.”; 

2. The support referred to in paragraph 1 shall end on 31 December 2020.  

By  way  of  derogation  from  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article  65(9)  of  Regulation 
(EU) No 1303/2013, expenditure for operations supported under this Article shall be 
eligible as of 1 February 2020.”; 

(11) In Article 79, paragraph 2 is deleted; 

(12) Article 94(3)(c) is amended as follows: 

(c)  50%  of  the  eligible  public  expenditure  for  the  support  referred  to  in  Article 
33(1)(a) to (c), Article 34 and Article 41(2);”. 

Article 2 
Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 

Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 is amended as follows: 

(1) In Article 8(3), the following point (f) is added: 

“(f)  managing  temporary  storage  for  aquaculture  products  in  accordance  with 
Articles 30 and 31 of this Regulation.”; 

(2) Article 30 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 30 
Storage mechanism 

Fishery  and  aquaculture  producer  organisations  may  receive  financial  support  for 
storage  of  products  listed  in  Annex  II  or  products  of  the  CN  code  0302  listed  in 
Annex I, section (a) of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013, provided that: 

the conditions for storage aid, laid down in Regulation (EU) No 508/2014, are 

(a) 
complied with; 

the products have been placed on the market by producer organisations and no 

(b) 
buyer for them has been found at the trigger price referred to in Article 31; 

the  products  meet  the  common  marketing  standards,  where  applicable, 
(c) 
established  in  accordance  with  Article  33  and  are  of  adequate  quality  for  human 
consumption; 

the products are stabilised or processed and stored in tanks or cages, by way of 
(d) 
freezing, either on board vessels or in land facilities, salting, drying, marinating or, 

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where relevant, boiling and pasteurisation, whether or not filleted, cut-up or, where 
appropriate, headed; 

(e) 

aquaculture products are not stored alive; 

the  products  are  reintroduced  from  storage  into  the  market  for  human 

(f) 
consumption at a later stage, and 

(g) 

the products remain in storage for at least five days.”; 

(3) Article 31 is amended as follows: 

(a) paragraph 1 is amended as follows: 

“Before  the  beginning  of  each  year,  each  producer  organisation  may  individually 
make a proposal  for a price triggering the storage mechanism referred to in  Article 
30 for products listed in Annex II or products of the CN code 0302 listed in Annex I, 
section (a) of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013.”; 

(b) the following paragraph 5 is added: 

“5.  Where  a  Member  State  has  not  determined  the  trigger  prices  pursuant  to 
paragraph 4 prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, this Member State shall, without delay, 
determine  the  trigger  prices  concerned  on  the  basis  of  the  criteria  referred  to  in 
paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article. The prices shall be made publicly available.”. 

 Article 3 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  following  that  of  its  publication  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

10 

  EN