C 214/160
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
16.6.2023
Thursday 19 January 2023
14.
Points out the need for an ambitious revision of the CMO Regulation with the aim of increasing its contribution to the sector’s income and to market stability, as well as to improve the marketing of fishery products and increase their added value; in this context, stresses the importance of creating certified seafood labels and fisheries product brand mechanisms, as well as of increasing traceability in the supply chain, which would in turn improve information to consumers, encouraging them to buy locally and sustainably sourced seafood and raise their awareness of SSF products;
15.
Calls for small-scale fishing support programmes to be facilitated through the EMFAF with a view to improving business management and organisational capacities, driving down production costs, improving first-sale prices and ensuring economic and environmental sustainability, in particular through a more sustainable and modern fleet;
16.
Stresses the difficulties that the SSF sector is still experiencing, which can also be aggravated by fluctuating and rising prices for fuel and other inputs, a situation that particularly affects the less competitive fleet segments, namely small-scale, artisanal and coastal fishing;
Improving operating conditions and guaranteeing the future of small-scale, artisanal and coastal fisheries
17.
Welcomes the fact that the EMFAF provides the possibility to support the modernisation, replacement or acquisition of newer engines that emit less CO2, including engines using new energy-efficient technologies, and the conversion of petrol engines; considers that the highest existing co-financing rates should be used; warns that many of these alternative motorisation solutions have not yet been sufficiently developed or involve a significant increase in gross tonnage, such as in the case of some electric motors;
18.
Underlines that in certain regions, the majority of the SSF sector is dependent on fuel subsidies; warns that the Commission’s proposal for a Council directive restructuring the Union framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (COM(2021)0563), by ending the current mandatory exemption for the fishing sector and introducing a minimum rate of taxation, puts at risk the viability of the majority of the SSF segment, which cannot make long voyages in order to refuel in ports with lower prices; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure equal conditions at international level and therefore continue to exempt the fishing industry from fuel taxation; stresses that any new approach should not result in a burden for SSF and should focus on alternative solutions that allow the sector to combine a just transition towards the goals set in the Green Deal with the ability to thrive economically and guarantee decent conditions for its workers; considers, in that regard, and given the current extraordinary inflation of fuel prices, that extraordinary measures could be envisaged by the Member States to provide aid to the small-scale, coastal and artisanal fisheries segment for the expected rising production costs, in particular within the scope of the EMFAF and the national operational programmes;
19.
Highlights the difficulties and the serious adverse economic and social effects that the COVID-19 crisis has had on the fisheries sector and the importance for Member States to channel the available national and EU funds, if needed, as well as the consideration of exceptional measures to help fishers, including workers, in overcoming crises or market disturbances; calls on the Member States to use the resources made available through the crisis mechanisms to support SSF; underlines that, in spite of the crisis, the small-scale coastal fisheries sector still continued to function, giving EU citizens access to seafood, especially in isolated coastal regions, islands and the ORs;
20.
Urges Member States to allocate funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility to investment in the small-scale coastal fleet with the aim of helping fishers and operators who do associated work, mainly women, such as net menders, shore-based assistants and packagers, and workers;
21.
Urges the Commission to facilitate, under the aegis of the EMFAF, SSF sector-specific support for the installation of storage, freezing and refrigeration infrastructure and for maintaining the cold chain from boat to final consumer; considers this support a decisive element to enable the SSF segment to take full advantage of fisheries resources — without destroying or depleting stocks — as well as to ensure a regular supply and delivery of fresh and high-quality products to the public, the Horeca sector and the food processing industry;