COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund
Date: 2021-06-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Subjects: European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, conservation of resources, distribution of EU funding, fisheries policy, fishery resources, marine ecosystem, maritime safety, resources of the sea, shipping policy, sustainable development

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 18.6.2021  COM(2021) 311 final 2018/0210 (COD)  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund     
 
2018/0210 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of the Council on the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund  

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date  the  Commission  sent  the  proposal  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council:  12 
June 2018 

(document COM(2018) 390 final – 2018/0210 (COD)) 

Date of the European Economic and Social Committee’s opinion: 12 December 2018 

Date of the Committee of the Regions’ opinion: 9 October 2018 

Date of the European Parliament’s position, first reading: 4 April 2019 

Date the amended proposal was sent: N/A 

Date of the Council’s position, first reading: 14 June 2021 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION’S PROPOSAL  

This  proposal  forms  part  of  the  post-2020  multiannual  financial  framework  (MFF)  package 
that  the  Commission  proposed  in  May  2018.  It  aims  to  support  the  achievement  of  the 
objectives of the common fisheries policy and of the EU's maritime and international ocean 
governance policies. The Commission proposed a budget of EUR 6.14 billion. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

The  Council’s  position  as  adopted  at  first  reading  fully  reflects  the  political  agreement 
reached between the European Parliament and the Council on 4 December 2020.  

The Commission considers that overall the political agreement is in line with the objective of 
maximising  the  EU  added  value  and  with  the  EU’s  priorities  of  the  European  Green  Deal, 
digital transition and resilience. 

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The Commission also considers that overall the political agreement is balanced and contains 
the  necessary  safeguards  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  fisheries  subsidies  that  can  be 
considered  harmful  in  terms  of  sustainability.  The  Commission  believes  the  political 
agreement is in line with: 

– 

– 

– 

the basic principles of sustainable fisheries under the common fisheries policy; 

the EU commitment under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (or SDG) 14.6 to 
eliminate fisheries subsidies, which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing; and 

the  EU’s  position  in  the  ongoing  discussions  on  fisheries  subsidies  at  the  World 
Trade Organisation.  

Therefore, the Commission supports the political agreement. 

The main points of this agreement are the following: 

 

 

Name of the fund changed to ‘European, Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund’ 
(EMFAF). 

The Commission considers that this new title reflects the fund’s scope. 

Distribution of financial resources 

– 

Reduction of the allocation implemented under direct management by EUR 32 
million,  due to  the overall EMFAF budget  being  reduced by EUR 32 million 
under the MFF. 

– 

– 

The  Commission  considers  that  this  very  limited  cut  will  not  undermine 
support under direct management, in particular to the maritime policy and the 
international  ocean  governance  agenda.  At  the  same  time,  this  cut  preserves 
significant  allocations  to  Member  States  under  shared  management  to  tackle 
the  needs  of  their  fishery  and  aquaculture  sectors,  and  address  climate  and 
environment objectives. 

Reduction  of  the  ceiling  for  Commission’s  technical  assistance  from  1.7%  to 
1.5% of the overall budget. 

The Commission considers that, even if this reduction will reduce its ability to 
assist  Member  States  in  the  programming  process,  it  will  not  undermine  the 
core tasks supported by technical assistance. 

A cap of 15% for each national allocation to implement five fleet measures (i.e. 
increase  of  gross  tonnage,  engine  replacement,  first  acquisition  of  a  second-
hand  vessel  by  a  young  fisher,  permanent  cessation  of  fishing  activities,  and 
temporary cessation of fishing activities).  

In  the  Commission’s  proposal,  the  cap  was  10%  but  only  for  permanent  and 
temporary cessation. However, given that the nature of the other measures has 
changed,  the  Commission  requested  that  they  be  included  in  the  scope  of  the 
cap.  These  five  measures  involve  individual  investments  or  compensation,  so  
do not have a high added value. While the Commission would have preferred a 
10%  cap  for  all  five  fleet  measures  to  ensure  maximum  added  value  of  EU 
funds, it considers that this 15% cap still ensures that support for fleet measures 
will  not  harm  the  EMFAF’s  core  priorities  (e.g.  sustainable  fishing,  fisheries 
control,  collection  of  scientific  data  to  support  fisheries  management, 
innovation,  collective  organisation  of  the  sector,  or  local  development).  This 

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 

cap  also  prevents  an  artificial  offer  of  subsidies  being  created,  which  would 
generate its own demand and consequently distort the market.  

– 

Increase  of  the  cap  for  compensation  of  additional  costs  in  the  outermost 
regions from 50% to 60% of the allocations ring-fenced for these regions, with 
the possibility of a further increase by 10 percentage points if duly justified by 
Member States in their programme. 

The Commission  considers that this increase preserves  a reasonable share for 
structural investments. The Commission will carefully examine if any requests 
from Member States to use the additional 10 percentage points are justified by 
a real need.  

Alignment of the fund’s overall structure to the logic of the other funds covered by 
the  Common  Provisions  Regulation  (in  particular,  replacement  of  the  ‘areas  of 
support’ with ‘specific objective’). 

This  alignment  does  not  affect  substance.  The  Commission  considers  that  this  new 
structure  has  resulted  in  considerable  simplification,  which  limits  the  number  of 
derogations allowed for the EMFAF in the Common Provisions Regulation and will 
ease Member States’ programming. 

Creation of a new measure to increase the volume (quantified in ‘gross tonnage’) of 
fishing vessels in order to improve safety, working conditions or energy efficiency. 

While  noting  that  this  measure  was  not  in  the  Commission’s  proposal  and  that  it 
allows a vessel’s nominal fishing capacity to be increased, the Commission considers 
that there are sufficient safeguards to prevent the vessel from increasing its ability to 
catch fish. 

– 

– 

– 

Only  the  ‘gross  tonnage’  parameter  of  fishing  capacity  can  be  increased,  not 
the power parameter. 

The increase of gross tonnage is eligible only in fleet segments where there is 
no overcapacity. It must be compensated by the prior withdrawal of at least the 
same level  of gross tonnage in  the same fleet  segment or in  a segment of the 
national  fleet  subject  to  overcapacity,  therefore  not  increasing  the  fleet’s 
overall  capacity.  This  is  a  stricter  condition  than  the  general  EU  ‘entry-exit 
system’,  which  simply  provides  that  an  entry  of  fishing  capacity  must  be 
compensated by a corresponding exit from any fleet segment. 

The  increase  of  gross  tonnage  must  be  justified  by  improved  safety,  working 
conditions  or  energy  efficiency.  Therefore,  the  article  includes  an  exhaustive 
list  of  eligible  operations  that  links  the  increase  of  gross  tonnage  to  the 
subsequent installation of a facility or equipment that improves safety, working 
conditions  or  energy  efficiency,  to  ensure  that  no  harmful  operations  are 
supported.  

– 

Only vessels  that are up to  24m  long  and at  least  10  years old  are eligible in 
order to focus on vessels in most need. 

Therefore, the Commission considers that this measure is not a harmful subsidy, as it 
does not contribute to overfishing or overcapacity. 

 

Modification  of  certain  conditions  of  support  for  the  replacement  of  engines  of 
fishing  vessels  (i.e.  extension  of  eligibility  to  vessels  longer  than  12m,  up  to  24m; 

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new  requirement  of  20%  reduction  of  CO2  emissions  for  vessels  between  12m  and 
24m).  

The Commission highlights three conditions that prevent potential harmful effects:  

– 

– 

– 

support is available only in fleet segments without overcapacity; 

the new engine must not have more power than the engine replaced; 

the  new  engine  must  be  physically  inspected  to  ensure  that  its  actual  power 
matches the power declared. 

The extension of support to vessels up to 24m is a carry-over from the scope of the 
2014-2020  period.  The  Commission  believes  that  the  new  requirement  to  reduce 
CO2  emissions  will  help  achieve  the  European  Green  Deal’s  objectives  towards 
climate neutrality. The Commission will be empowered to specify certain aspects of 
the  methodology  for  measuring  this  reduction  and  will  make  sure  that  this 
methodology does not create burden for Member States and beneficiaries. 

 

Modification  of  certain conditions  of  support provided for  the first acquisition of  a 
second-hand  vessel  by  a  young  fisher  (i.e.  extension  of  eligibility  to  vessels  longer 
than  12m,  up  to  24m;  eligibility  of  the  partial  acquisition  of  the  vessel,  where  the 
young fisher owns at least 33% of the shares). 

The Commission recalls that this support is a start-up scheme for young fishers that 
aims to step up generational renewal. This is not the  same as fleet renewal because 
support is granted only for the first acquisition of a second-hand vessel by a  young 
fisher (i.e. younger than 40). 

The Commission highlights two conditions that prevent potential harmful effects:  

– 

– 

support is available only in fleet segments without overcapacity; 

the vessel must be second-hand (i.e. registered for at least 3 years in the case of 
small-scale vessels and for at least 5 years for other vessels). 

The extension of support to vessels up to 24m is a carry-over from the scope of the 
2014-2020 period. 

The  Commission  also  believes  that  the  new  possibility  to  support  the  partial 
acquisition  of  a  vessel  will  facilitate  transitional  generational  renewal,  for  example 
within  a  family  business.  The  condition  of  a  minimum  share  of  ownership  of  33% 
will  ensure  that  the  young  fisher  is  actually  involved  in  the  vessel’s  operation, 
therefore reducing the possibility of any abuse, e.g. ‘paper ownership’. 

 

Elimination of the mandatory results-based implementation mechanism proposed for 
the  permanent  cessation  of  fishing  activities  (‘financing  not  linked  to  costs’). 
Consequently,  Member  States  are  free  to  choose  any  of  the  implementation 
mechanisms provided for in the Common Provisions Regulation. 

Although the Commission  regrets  that this  mandatory  results-based mechanism has 
been  removed,  it  believes  permanent  cessation  helps  eliminate  overcapacity  for  the 
following reasons:  

– 

it  has  to  be  included  in  the  action  plans  that  Member  States  must  prepare, 
pursuant  to  the  common  fisheries  policy,  to  align  the  fishing  capacity  of  the 
fleet  with  the  available  resources  in  the  fleet  segments  which  are  subject  to 
overcapacity; 

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 

– 

– 

the fishing capacity scrapped cannot be replaced; 

the beneficiary cannot register a new vessel within 5 years of receiving the aid 
payment. 

The  Commission  considers  that  this  measure  is  not  a  harmful  subsidy,  as  it  will 
permanently  reduce  the  fleet’s  overall  capacity  and  therefore  reduce  the  pressure 
from fishing on marine biological resources. 

Transformation of ‘extraordinary cessation of fishing activities’ (i.e. a compensation 
scheme to alleviate the socio-economic impact of unexpected and significant closures 
of  fisheries)  into  ‘temporary  cessation  of  fishing  activities’  (i.e.  a  compensation 
scheme to  accompany the implementation  of  conservation measures and  temporary 
reductions  of  fishing  effort,  on  the  basis  of  scientific  advice).  Extension  of  the 
maximum  duration  of  compensation  from  6  months  to  12  months  per  vessel  during 
the programming period. 

The  Commission  notes  that  this  scheme  is  stricter  than  that  under  the  2014-2020 
period  because  any  compensation  provided  for  a  conservation  measure  must  i) be 
justified by scientific advice and ii) help reduce fishing effort. Even if the maximum 
duration of the compensation scheme has been extended from 6 to 12 months, these 
conditions ensure that temporary cessation contributes to conservation measures. 

The Commission also notes that this scheme is stricter than that under the 2014-2020 
period as regards sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs). Indeed, it is 
no  longer  possible  to  compensate  for  the  non-renewal  of  a  SFPA  but  only  for 
interruptions to its application due to reasons of force majeure. 

 

Availability of direct grants for productive investments in aquaculture and for small 
and medium-sized businesses in the processing sector. 

The Commission regrets that the political agreement has not retained the proposal for 
mandatory  financial  instruments  (e.g.  public  loans  or  guarantees)  for  productive 
investments  in  aquaculture  and  for  investments  in  the  processing  sector,  therefore 
carrying over the rules of the 2014-2020 period (i.e. mandatory financial instruments 
only for large companies in the processing sector). The Commission invites Member 
States  to  consider  the  potential  of  financial  instruments,  both  in  terms  of 
simplification and of investment leverage. 

 

Creation  of  a  compensation  scheme  to  respond  to  exceptional  crises  that  cause 
market  disruptions.  The  eligibility  of  these  compensation  schemes  can  only  be 
triggered by a Commission decision setting out the situation of market disruption. 

The  Commission  welcomes  this  crisis  scheme  to  address  the  consequences  of  the 
COVID-19 pandemic and other possible future crises. The Commission recalls that 
its scope is based on the COVID-19 measures, which expired at the end of 2020:  

– 

– 

compensation  for  economic  losses  of  individual  fishers,  aquaculture  farmers 
and businesses of the processing sector;  

compensation  for  producer  organisations  so  they  can  manage  the  storage 
mechanism  of  the  Common  Market  Organisation  (i.e.  a  temporary  collective 
storage of products in order to limit supply as a way to drive prices up). 

In particular, the Commission considers that this scheme should only be activated in 
the case of ‘exceptional events generating a significant disruption of markets’, and by 
a Commission decision, for three reasons: 

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(1) 

(2) 

to limit it to serious crises;  

to ensure compensation can be provided quickly (indeed, a delegated act or an 
implementing act in comitology would require several weeks, if not months); 

(3) 

to ensure a level-playing field across Member States.  

 

Preservation of  the principle that investments  on board are  eligible only  if they go 
beyond EU legal requirements. However, investments to comply with national legal 
requirements  become  eligible,  including  investments  on  board  necessary  to  comply 
with  requirements  imposed  by  a  Member  State  to  give  effect  to  optional provisions 
under Directive (EU) 2017/159 on working conditions on board. 

The Commission  considers that public support must encourage behaviour that goes 
beyond compliance with the law, therefore investments on board (e.g. for fishing or 
safety  equipment)  must  generate  added  value.  However,  investments  that  comply 
with national requirements can be eligible in order to encourage Member States to be 
more  ambitious  than  EU  law.  The  Commission  also  welcomes  the  specific 
derogation  to  this  rule  for  investments  on  board  related  to  control  and  monitoring 
(see next point). 

 

Eligibility of all fishing vessels to receive support for mandatory electronic reporting 
systems (only small-scale vessels in the Commission’s proposal). 

The Commission believes that modernising the existing control tools and using new 
monitoring  technologies  is  key  to  fostering  a  culture  of  compliance  in  the  sector. 
Therefore, the Commission welcomes the eligibility of these investments despite the 
fact that they do not go beyond legal requirements. 

 

Eligibility of the construction of new landing sites (but not of new ports). 

The  Commission  considers  that  there  is  no  economic  justification  for  the 
construction of new ports to be eligible for support, which is also too expensive for 
such a small fund to cover. The Commission recalls that modernising existing ports 
is  eligible,  even  with  a  higher  rate  of  public  aid  for  investments  related  to 
implementing  the  landing  obligation.  However,  the  Commission  considers  that 
landing  sites  are  not  the  same  thing  as  ports  since  they  are  primarily  used  for 
landings  of  small-scale  costal  fishing  vessels.  Therefore, 
the  Commission 
acknowledges that support for new landing sites can be justified. 

Single maximum co-financing rate of 70%, instead of a specific rate for each specific 
objective.  The  only  exception  is  100%  for  the  compensation  of  additional  costs  for 
the outermost regions, as in the initial proposal. 

The Commission welcomes this single maximum rate and notes that, except for the 
permanent and temporary cessation of fishing activities (50% in the proposal), it has 
decreased  compared  to  the  initial  proposal  (i.e.  between  75%  and  100%  for  all  the 
other specific objectives). Therefore, the Commission welcomes this overall decrease 
of  the  EU’s  share,  resulting  in  more  balanced  co-financing  between  the  EU  and 
Member States.  

Increase of  the maximum intensity  of  public aid from  30% to  40% for  certain fleet 
measures  (i.e.  increase  of  gross  tonnage,  engine  replacement,  first  acquisition  of  a 
second-hand  vessel  by  a  young  fisher).  Increase  of  other  aid  intensity  rates  up  to 
100%  for  other  cases,  e.g.  linked  to  innovation,  collective  benefits  and  collective 
beneficiaries. 

 

 

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The Commission considers that the rate of public aid should depend on the type of 
operation or beneficiary. Higher rates over the 50% standard should be justified by a 
market failure, a high added value or a collective benefit. The Commission believes 
that  the  conditions  included  in  the  political  agreement  respond  to  this  concern, 
especially the 100% rate for small-scale coastal fishing vessels – which is the main 
part  of  the  preferential  treatment  for  small-scale  vessels  –  and  the  possibility  for  a 
100% rate if the operation combines a collective interest, a collective beneficiary and 
innovative features. The Commission also welcomes the lower rate (40%) for certain 
individual fleet measures because they are individual investments with limited added 
value.  In  this  respect,  public  support  should  leverage  private  investment  and  not 
overshadow it.  

Eliminate the action plan for small-scale coastal fishing as a self-standing document 
but incorporate its objectives throughout the programming requirements. 

The  Commission  believes  that  this  solution  will  have  the  same  impact  as  the 
proposed  action  plan.  Indeed,  Member  States  will  have  to  take  into  account  the 
specific  needs  of  small-scale  vessels  in  the  analysis  of  their  strengths,  weaknesses, 
opportunities  and  threats  (SWOT)  and  when  describing  the  types  of  actions 
envisaged  for  each  specific  objective.  This  will  ensure  that  small-scale  vessels  are 
treated differently where relevant. 

Requirement  for  Member  States  to  take  into  account  regional  challenges  in  their 
national programme. 

The Commission considers that this new requirement introduced by the co-legislators 
is  a  reasonable  compromise  to  take  specific  geographical  challenges  into  account 
when  preparing  the  national  programmes,  without  creating  administrative  burden. 
The  Commission  underlines  that  Member  States  should  refer  to  the  ‘Sea  Basin 
Analyses’1,  which  highlight  the  key  challenges  at  sea  basin  level  and  suggest 
possible solutions.  

Implementing  acts  (instead  of  delegated  acts  in  the  proposal)  for  defining  cases  of 
non-compliance with the common fisheries policy. 

The Commission considers that this change of procedure does not affect the content 
of those acts. 

The  co-legislators  did  not  accept  that  a  30%  climate  target  and  a  specific 
biodiversity  spending  target  could  be  set  out  in  an  article  as  requested  by  the 
Commission  as  a  follow-up  to  the  agreement  on  the  multiannual  financial 
framework. 

Even  if  there  are  no  binding  climate  and  biodiversity  spending  targets  as  such,  the 
Commission notes that the EMFAF must contribute to the EU’s climate objectives in 
the  context  of  the  overall  30%  target  for  climate  expenditure  and  to  biodiversity 
objectives  in  the  context  of  the  7.5-10%  target  established  in  the  MFF.  The 
Commission  will  work  with  Member  States  in  the  context  of  the  programming 
exercise for the 2021-2027 EMFAF to achieve both those targets. 

 

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SWD(2020)206 final 

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4. 

CONCLUSION 

The Commission supports the results of the inter-institutional negotiations and can therefore 
accept the Council's position at first reading. 

5. 

DECLARATIONS FROM THE COMMISSION  

The Commission has made three unilateral declarations and two joint declarations, which can 
be found in the appendix. 

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APPENDIX 

Declarations from the Commission 

European Parliament, Council and Commission statement on the biodiversity spending 
objective 

“The European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission recognise the need to 
urgently advance action on the protection and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems 
and  biodiversity.  The  three  institutions  agree  that  tackling  biodiversity  loss,  protecting  and  
restoring  ecosystems  and/or  maintaining  them  in  good  condition  will  require  significant 
public  and  private  investment  at  national  and  European  level  and  that  a  significant 
proportion  of  the  EMFAF  expenditures  should  be  invested  in  biodiversity.  The  three 
institutions agree that the European Commission will work with Member States, in the context 
of  the  programming  exercise  for  the  EMFAF  2021-2027,  to   reach  the  overall  ambition  of 
biodiversity spending highlighted in recital 15.” 

European  Commission  statement  on  the  monitoring  of  the  biodiversity  spending 
objective 

“The  European  Commission,  in  the  context  of  the  programming  exercise  for  the  EMFAF 
2021-2027, will actively encourage Member States to maximise the use of measures included 
in  their  programmes,  in  particular  under  Article  25  (protection  of  biodiversity  and 
ecosystems), to reach the overall ambition of providing an annual spending under the MFF to 
tackle  biodiversity  loss,  protect  and  restore  ecosystems  and  maintain  ecosystems  in  good 
conditions as follows: 7,5% of annual spending under the MFF to biodiversity objectives in 
the year 2024 and 10% of annual spending under the MFF to biodiversity objectives in 2026 
and 2027. 

The  Commission  will  regularly  monitor  the  level  of  this  spending  on  the  basis  of  the  total 
eligible  expenditure  declared  by  the  beneficiaries  to  the  managing  authority  and  on  data 
submitted  by  the  Member  State.  Where  the  monitoring  shows  insufficient  progress  towards 
reaching the overall ambition, the Commission will actively engage with Member States in the 
annual  review  meeting  in  order  to  adopt  remedial  measures,  including  a  programme 
amendment.” 

Statement from the Commission and the Council on their commitment to try to avoid an 
interruption of fishing activities under Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements 

“The  Council  and  the  Commission  remain  committed  to  trying  to  avoid  an  interruption  of 
fishing activities under Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements by striving towards the 
timely  renewal  of  Sustainable  Fisheries  Partnership  Agreements  and  their  implementing 
Protocols.” 

Statement  by  the  Commission  State  Aid  for  the  renewal  of  the  fleets  in  the  outermost 
regions 

“The Commission takes note of the difficulties encountered up to now to grant state aid for 
the renewal of the fleets in the outermost regions. With a view to the sustainable development 
of those regions, the Commission will endeavour to assist the Member States to improve the 

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collection of scientific data necessary to comply with the eligibility condition set in the  State 
aid guidelines  with a view to facilitating the application of the guidelines for the examination 
of State aid to the fishery and aquaculture sector in the Outermost Regions.” 

Statement by the Commission on the modernisation of the existing control tools and the 
use of new monitoring technologies 

“The  Commission  has  accepted  the  eligibility  of  investments  on  board  related  to  fisheries 
control  and  enforcement,  be  they  mandatory  or  not,  and  for  all  Union  fishing  vessels.  The 
Commission  considers  that  these investments  will  enable Member States to  make full  use of 
the  financial  resources  available  in  the  EMFAF  for  control  and  enforcement,  to  fulfil  their 
obligations under the Control Regulation and other rules of the Common Fisheries Policy and 
to substantially improve the culture of compliance in the fishing sector. 

Moreover, the Commission expects that – in the context of the ongoing review of the Control 
Regulation – the European Parliament and the Council will support the modernisation of the 
existing control tools and the use of new technologies as proposed by the Commission. This 
means in particular introducing smart solutions for the tracking and catch reporting of small 
scale  vessels,  installing  systems  for  the  continuous  monitoring  of  engine  power,  moving  to 
fully digitised traceability systems covering all fishery products (fresh, frozen and processed), 
and  introducing  mandatory  remote  electronic  monitoring  systems  on  board  fishing  vessels 
and  based  on  risk  assessment,  as  the  only  effective  means  to  control  the  application  of  the 
landing obligation and the bycatch and discard of sensitive species.” 

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