Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Change 9

Added15. Considers that marketing standards for aquatic food products placed on the EU market, regardless of their origin, should adhere to harmonised environmental and social sustainability standards; calls for these standards to be included in trade agreements and measures adopted in regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) as it is important to ensure that operators have a level playing field and that EU producers are not unduly disadvantaged in the market; believes that it is vital to harness the potential of certification, especially protected designations of origin (PDO) and their benefits in terms of environmental sustainability, in order to promote aquaculture products;

Change 10

Added17. Calls on the Commission to step up its efforts to detect instances of non-compliance with the legislation and to ensure that there is a level playing field in all Member States; suggests, specifically, that good practices in terms of implementation of and compliance with legislation on marketing and ecosystem protection should be taken into account;

Added18. Points out that it is essential that the marketing standards for all products marketed in the EU are aligned and updated in accordance with the requirements and objectives of the CFP in order to enhance fair competition and clarity among all players, being essential to emphasise the integration of social and environmental benchmarks to ensure global sustainability; notes, in this regard, that the specific characteristics of the markets in the regions referred to in Article 349 TFEU shall be taken into account;

Change 11

Changed11.19. Agrees that for the CMO to fully achieve its objectives, consumersthe competent authorities must beensure that consumers are informed, through promotional, marketing and educational campaigns, of the valuenutritional, health and sustainability benefits of eating fishery and aquaculture products, the wide variety of species available and the importance of understanding the information on labels;labels, while avoiding misinforming consumers and ensuring alignment with EU food systems; believes that for consumers to be able to make informed choices, they should receive clear and comprehensive information on the products sold on the EU market, and that this information should comply with the same rules, regardless of the products’ origin;origin and means of production;

Change 12

Removed12. Argues that traceability and related transparency measures are necessary for ensuring compliance with applicable CFP rules; believes that if these measures are supported by a proper labelling system, they can guarantee that the information provided to consumers is trustworthy and reliable; highlights the fact that such a labelling system is vital for combating both food fraud, including mislabelling, and IUU fishing;

Added20. Highlights that the STECF proposed to improve consumer information by including more detailed information on the catch area, fishing gear and production methods in the CMO; calls, therefore, on the Commission to consider reinforcing marketing standards in order to include more information on the labels such as the ingredients, geographical fishing area and fishing gear, date of catch, among other things, without adding unnecessary administrative burdens on producers and POs; is of the opinion that periodic reviews should be conducted to ensure compliance and to assess the effectiveness of these harmonised standards as it will help in identifying areas of improvement and ensuring that the standards remain relevant and updated;

Removed13. Notes that the Commission received, in its consultations, reports indicating that mandatory consumer information requirements had not been met in some Member States; notes that implementation throughout the EU is considered to be uneven and this is particularly significant in some segments, such as fishmongers and mass caterers; recalls that labelling must provide an accurate description of fishery and non-fishery products, in particular when mentioning substitute products, as in many cases images are used that make consumers think certain products are fishery products when they are not;

Added21. Believes that consumers should clearly be able to identify the origin of products, given that this information is increasingly valued by European consumers and encourages them to consume local foods that are produced or obtained in their area; underlines the need to change the current system of identifying fisheries products by FAO area as it does not indicate their origin clearly or in detail and can create confusion;

Added22. Calls for the Commission and the Member States to promote and establish new protected quality designations in the light of their known and proven benefits for EU fishery and aquaculture products and calls for better marketing of those products; urges the Commission to facilitate the application of upcoming rules that will significantly benefit these quality structures, reducing, to the extent possible, the time needed to deal with applications;

Added23. Argues that traceability and related transparency measures are necessary for ensuring compliance with applicable CFP rules; believes that if these measures are supported by a proper labelling system, which should be required for processed, fresh and preserved aquatic food products, they can guarantee that the information provided to consumers is accurate, clear, complete, trustworthy and reliable; highlights the fact that such a labelling system is vital for combating both food fraud, including mislabelling, and IUU fishing; considers that the traceability of products must be strengthened and guaranteed throughout all stages of the value chain in order to provide not only economic and commercial benefits, but also contribute to efforts to protect health; welcomes, in this regard, the introduction of the CATCH certificate for imported products by the new Fisheries Control Regulation;

Change 13

Changed14.26. Recalls that POs and interbranch organisations may be exempted from the application of competition rules in order to achieve their objectives, subject to certain conditions, including that their activities do not lead to the partitioning of markets, do not exclude competition and do not eliminate competition;

Change 14

Changed15.27. Notes that this exemption is essential for allowing some practices used by POs,POs and interbranch organisations, especially in the outermost regions, such as controlling the quantities put on the market by POtheir members in order to stabilise markets and prices, comply with conservation requirements and avoid food waste; concludes that non-recognised collective bodies of producers (e.g. cooperatives, cofradías)Cofradías) may not benefit from the exemption under the current criteria for POs;

Change 15

RemovedMarket intelligence

Added28. Underlines that around 70 % of the seafood that is consumed in the EU is imported from non-EU countries, which consequently leads to the EU being dependant on these imports for its consumption; highlights that the fisheries, aquaculture and related sectors must be profitable in order to make the investments needed to operate, while profitability is only possible if the products are competitive with imports from non-EU countries; calls on the Commission and the Council to ensure that EU trade policy allows for a level playing field between EU and imported products, and to promote the consumption of sustainable (environmental, economic and social) EU aquatic food products;

Added29. Encourages the Commission to initiate a dialogue with POs and other relevant stakeholders on autonomous tariff quotas;

AddedMarket intelligence and crisis management

Change 16

Removed17. Notes that the EUMOFA was used to trigger crisis measures to address the impact of the COVID pandemic;

Added31. Recalls that the EUMOFA provides market intelligence based on the existing combined nomenclature of the EU’s common customs tariff; considers that the latter should be updated to include new product categories of fish products that are traded in increased volumes in the EU, and to offer more intuitive and comprehensive digital tools; calls on the Commission to explore ways of further improving the market intelligence of fisheries and aquaculture products, specifically improving the market analysis by distinguishing between different parts of Europe with different consumption habits of fish species;

Added32. Notes that the EUMOFA was used to trigger crisis measures to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Added33. Calls on the Commission, during the next revision of the CMO, to consider the possibility of establishing a crisis reserve or system, including storage aid, as a means of protecting the sector from any exceptional situations that might arise in the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector; recalls that exceptional aid recently had to be provided to tackle the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; calls on the Commission to set out the criteria for using such aid and ensuring that it can be tailored to the specific market disturbance, taking as a basis the crisis reserve model already in use for other food sectors, and considering other measures that could be beneficial for alleviating severe market disturbances;

Change 17

Changed18.34. Welcomes the progress made in implementing the CMO rules; highlights the need for further efforts in ensuring that consumers are properly informed, improving labelling, enhancing market transparency and increasing the traceability of fisheryfishery, shellfish and aquaculture products;products as well as gender and youth inclusive policies; notes that some Member States have governments below state level that have competences for fisheries, shellfish and aquaculture and that this should be respected by the Commission and other concerned institutions for advancing the implementation of the CMO;

Change 18

Changed19.35. Believes that the Commission and the Member States need to make more effort to achieve more uniform implementation of the CMO Regulation;Regulation across sectors, by taking sufficient account of the specific conditions under which markets operate in the outermost regions; is of the opinion that more uniform implementation could help to ensure consumer trust in the aquatic food products placed on the single market;market, and serve the objectives of endogenous development and food self-sufficiency in the outermost regions;

Change 19

Removed20. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to present a proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems with the aim of enhancing transparency and providing consumers with more information; highlights the need to ensure that this does not create an additional administrative burden and aligns with the sustainability condition set down in EU legislation;

Added36. Stresses the importance of involving all stakeholders throughout the entire supply chain; underlines, in this regard, the valuable work of the applicable market advisory council (MAC);

Removed21. Welcomes the outcome of the negotiations on the revision of the Fisheries Control Regulation, in particular the rules aiming to strengthen traceability provisions for all fishery and aquaculture products; is of the opinion that this traceability information will be very important for European consumers; calls on the Commission to propose further action to ensure that this information reaches final consumers in a simple, accessible format;

Added37. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to present a proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems with the aim of enhancing transparency and providing consumers with more information; stresses that the proposal should recognise the importance of healthy and sustainable fishery and aquaculture products, enhancing the value of the fisheries sector; highlights the need for this new legislative framework to include the importance of fish consumption in a healthy diet; highlights the need to ensure that this does not create an additional administrative burden and aligns with the sustainability condition set down in EU legislation;

Removed22. Believes that the Member States should make greater use of the EUMOFA in order to further improve the data collected under the instrument; is of the opinion that the EUMOFA could be used more to analyse the market, particularly when there are drastic changes, such as those that occurred during the COVID crisis, with a view to activating crisis tools and options to stabilise the market;

Added38. Welcomes the outcome of the negotiations on the revision of the Fisheries Control Regulation, in particular the rules aiming to strengthen traceability provisions for all fishery, shellfish and aquaculture products, including products imported from non-EU countries; is of the opinion that this traceability information will be very important for European consumers both on the continent and overseas; calls on the Commission to propose further action with the same requirements for all products, regardless of the extent to which they have been processed, the category of food or the Member State in which the company is based, to ensure that the information provided is accurate, clear, complete and harmonised in all Member States and territories, with competence for fisheries, and in all product categories, so that it reaches final consumers in a simple, accessible format;

Change 20

Changed24.41. Reiterates its call foron all Member States to adapt the criteria for recognising POs toand beinterbranch adaptedorganisations toin betterorder accommodateto recognise all the different organisations in the Member States that perform tasks that largely fall within the remit of a PO; highlights, in this regard, organisations such as cofradíasCofradías and prud’homiesPrud’homie de pêche;pêche, as well as those operating in the outermost regions;

Change 21

Added42. Calls for the Commission to initiate more effective measures to eliminate barriers for POs to fully deliver on their missions by addressing the difficulties for small-scale coastal and island fishery POs regarding differential treatment by national administrations, be it in terms of PO recognition, day-to-day financing, administrative support or eligibility of measures;

Added43. Underlines the importance of ensuring the commitment of all stakeholders, throughout the fishery and aquaculture supply chain and civil society, to increase confidence and understanding in applying the CMO provisions, in particular by maintaining and strengthening collaboration with the MAC;

Change 22

Changed25.44. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council andCouncil, the Commission,Commission and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.