Fishing – Photo Denmark – Thyboron, FEDER-02 – EC
(BRUSSELS) – The European Commission proposed Thursday a package of additional crisis measures to support the EU fishery and aquaculture sectors in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This complements a first package of crisis measures adopted under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) in March, and comprises financial compensation for additional costs, for income forgone and for the storage of products, as well as for the temporary cessation of fishing activities where they are currently unsafe.
“The fishery and aquaculture sectors are heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine,” said Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius: “With this proposal, we give the possibility to Member States to reallocate them to specific measures mitigating the socio-economic impact of the crisis.”
The military aggression of Russia against Ukraine has increased the prices of energy and raw materials, generating very high additional operating costs and squeezing profit margins in the fishery, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors. The war has also led to a precautionary interruption of fishing activities in certain areas. Once this proposal has been adopted, Member States will be able to speedily grant financial support for the additional costs and economic losses stemming from the crisis, in particular:
- Financial compensation for the temporary cessation of fishing activities where the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine jeopardises the security of fishing operations. This compensation is not subject to the financial ceiling and to the maximum duration established for the other cases of temporary cessation.
- Financial compensation to producer organisations which store fishery or aquaculture products in accordance with the storage mechanism of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 (common organisation of the markets).
- Financial compensation to operators of the fishery and aquaculture sector (including the processing sector) for their income forgone, and for additional costs they incurred due to the market disruption caused by the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine and its effects on the supply chain of fishery and aquaculture products.
The proposal also introduces flexibility mechanisms to facilitate the quick implementation of these new measures:
- A simplified procedure for amending the operational programmes of Member States as regards the introduction of these measures, including the reallocation of financial resources.
- Retroactive eligibility of expenditure as of 24 February 2022 for these measures.
- The possibility of reallocating the fixed amounts initially reserved for certain EMFF measures (i.e. control and enforcement, data collection) to the new crisis related measures.
The legislative proposal now needs to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council before it can take effect.
Legislative amendment to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 201420 (EMFF)
