Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Change 10

Changed10.20. StressesCalls on the needCommission, as part of the ongoing evaluation of the CFP, to present solutions to reduce administrative burdens and expeditesimplify administrative procedures forthrough projectsan thatomnibus enhanceproposal foodand security;to callsexpedite procedures for simplifiedprojects accessthat toenhance landfood security and coastalsovereignty; areasconsiders throughthat cooperationleading with the Europeanexample Investmentof Banka andprofitable localsector authoritieswill asstrengthen essentialcommon stepssustainability forstandards, maintainingto alead sustainablethe andway competitivein aquaculturethe sector;development of these standards globally;

Change 11

Removed11. Urges the Commission to thoroughly assess the structural factors and trends affecting the long-term sustainability and profitability of fisheries;

Added21. Emphasises that actions such as simplifying access to land and coastal areas, developed in close cooperation with the European Investment Bank and regional and local authorities, are essential steps for maintaining a sustainable, resilient and competitive aquaculture sector; underlines that a revised CFP or a new common aquaculture policy should help enhance food security and sovereignty by ensuring stable seafood supply for EU consumers;

Removed12. Calls for targeted measures to ensure generational renewal and enhance the attractiveness of fishing careers through investments in modern, safe and digitalised fishing fleets, training programmes, disease prevention initiatives and improved working conditions; calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen ports and customs checks, making full use of a new EU customs agency, to protect fishers from drug and migrant traffickers and to reinforce the traceability of imported sea products;

Added22. Stresses that fisheries and aquaculture are strategic assets for food security, sovereignty and coastal rural development; urges the Commission to fully integrate fisheries and aquatic food production into the EU’s wider food security, nutrition and sustainability strategies; insists that the three CFP sustainability pillars should be equally developed and none should undermine the viability of the others; calls for the EU and the Member States to strengthen cooperation between fishers and other maritime stakeholders under the sustainable blue economy framework, in areas such as maritime spatial planning, the deployment of renewable energy, the organisation of the seafood supply chain, the circular economy and diversification, acknowledging the broader identity and role of fishers as guardians of the marine environment and drivers of local development in coastal communities;

Removed13. Calls for support for the renewal of fishing fleets in the outermost regions (ORs) in order to safeguard the future of the fisheries sector in the ORs and as a contribution to sustainable local development; asks the Commission to ensure a particular role for the ORs in the EU’s SFPAs with neighbouring countries or regions, for instance in the form of infrastructure, fleet or sectoral supports;

Added23. Urges the Commission to thoroughly assess the structural and environmental factors and trends affecting the long-term sustainability, competitiveness, dependence and profitability of fisheries, aquaculture, and first-sale and processing operators, especially in the island and outermost regions; suggests that measures be developed to address those factors and trends through specific and immediate action that prevents the gradual disappearance of EU fishing activities;

Change 12

Changed14.24. CallsPoints onout the Commissionneed to promotemake consumerthe awarenessEU andfishing encourageand demandaquaculture forsector transparencyattractive and traceability,competitive ensuringwhen detailedcompared informationwith global competitors; calls on the origin, qualityCommission andto sustainabilityensure ofthat seafoodall products;Member stressesStates theand needrelevant tostakeholders developcommit marketto standardsthe thatswift guaranteeimplementation aof levelthe playingCATCH fieldsystem for seafoodall fishery and marineaquaculture products imported into the EU, ensuringand thatto theypromote meetthe comparablevoluntary environmentaluse andof sustainabilitythe criteria;system by non-EU countries;

Change 13

Removed15. Urges the immediate removal of regulatory barriers within the common fisheries policy that hinder decarbonisation efforts and fleet renewal, with particular attention to the needs of fishing fleets in the ORs;

Added25. Calls for targeted measures to ensure generational renewal and to enhance the attractiveness of fishing careers, also for women, by ensuring the sustainable management and rebuilding of fish stocks, investment in modern, safe and digitalised fishing fleets without increasing their fishing capacities, training programmes, safety at sea, the development of vocational training, particularly in the maintenance of maritime drones and remotely operated robots, the prevention of occupational and non-occupational disease, risk prevention initiatives and improved working conditions;

Added26. Recalls that the island and outermost regions face permanent natural and geographical constraints that affect the competitiveness of their fishing fleets and island economies; calls for specific attention to be given to investments in and measures, funding and support for, for example, the decarbonisation, renewal and modernisation of fishing fleets and infrastructure improvements, particularly in the outermost regions, in order to enhance attractiveness, safeguard generational renewal and the future of the fisheries sector in those regions, and contribute to sustainable local development; asks the Commission to pay particular attention to the involvement of the outermost regions in the EU’s fisheries partnerships with non-EU countries, especially with neighbouring countries or regions, for instance in the form of infrastructure, fleet or sectoral support, in order to avoid any situation of unfair competition between fishers in the outermost regions and fishers in neighbouring non-EU countries whose vessels are being renewed;

Added27. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote consumer awareness and encourage transparency and traceability, ensuring that detailed information is provided, also digitally, on the origin, quality and sustainability of all seafood products; stresses the need to ensure that EU seafood and marine products and those imported into the EU meet similar environmental, social, traceability, sustainability and animal welfare standards, enforced by effective monitoring and sanctions, in line with WTO rules and future mirror clauses;

Added28. Calls for action in relation to decarbonisation efforts and fleet renewal and modernisation, paying specific attention to the situation and needs of the fishing fleet in the outermost regions and islands; points out that its recent study suggests that future support instruments for fisheries should consider less restrictive conditions for support for the first acquisition of a fishing vessel, for engine renewal or replacement and for vessel improvements requiring additional tonnage while, at the same time, applying restrictions to avoid overcapacity or overfishing at the level of individual segments or the entire national fleet; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to address this when evaluating and simplifying unnecessary regulatory barriers within the CFP and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF);

Environmental and scientific leadership

Change 14

Changed16.29. Welcomes the EU’s leadership in globalinternational ocean governance, particularly through its role in creating the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction High Ambition Coalition of 52 countries;47 callsmembers; forwelcomes the swift ratificationentry andinto implementationforce of the BBNJ Agreement under the UN Convention on theUNCLOS Lawto ofensure the Sea on theeffective conservation and sustainable use of the marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, in order to ensureensure, in turn, the effective protection and sustainable management of the high seas; calls for the new framework to operate in a coordinated and complementary manner with existing international bodies including RFMOs, the FAO and the International Maritime Organization, and with the CFP; stresses that the agreement should be implemented and the directive transposed respecting the competences of these bodies, the EU acquis and the competences of the Member States;30. Welcomes the confirmation that the failure to adopt, implement or enforce fisheries management measures – whether under RFMOs or bilateral and multilateral agreements – now constitutes a failure to cooperate under EU law; asks the Commission, in this regard, in cooperation with the Member States, to use all available instruments to ensure that non-EU countries cooperate, including Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012, which establishes a framework for identifying and adopting measures for non-EU countries that fail to cooperate and that allow non-sustainable fishing of a stock of common interest for the Union;

Change 15

Changed17.31. CallsRecognises forthe importance of the precautionary principle of an international moratorium on deep-sea mining,mining as a matter of global environmental responsibility that might affect ocean governance and fisheries; highlights, in this regard, the importance of applying the precautionary principle to bedeep-sea promotedmining byprojects until their effects on the Commissionmarine environment and biodiversity have been sufficiently studied and researched; insists that the EU continue to participate actively in the global efforts on research and exploration of the deep sea, while setting the highest standards for sustainable resource management; welcomes the precautionary pause on deep-sea mining advocated by the Commission; calls, therefore, on the Member States,States to support this approach, including through the International Seabed Authority, until comprehensive scientific research demonstrates thatand suchknowledge activitieson canthe beimpact managedof withoutdeep-sea causingmining biodiversityis lossavailable orand ecosystemuntil degradation;it urgescan allbe countriesdemonstrated tothat applysuch theactivities precautionarycan principlebe andmanaged supportwithout thiscausing moratoriumbiodiversity asloss aor matterdegradation of global environmentalthe responsibility;ecosystem;

Change 16

Removed18. Urges the rapid designation of marine protected areas in the Antarctic, including the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula; calls on the Commission to actively advocate for these marine protected areas as part of a balanced response to the growing ambitions of other global actors in these regions;

Added32. Calls for support for an international moratorium on deep-sea mining and reminds the EU and its Member States, as members of the International Seabed Authority and in accordance with the UNCLOS, of their legal obligation to respond with appropriate measures to any attempts to bypass the International Seabed Authority as the competent international body for regulating deep-sea mining activities beyond national jurisdictions, as such attempts might have an impact on international ocean governance;33. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to push for the international moratorium on whaling and the hunting of large cetaceans of the International Whaling Commission and international bodies to be respected by all countries and regions, and for existing exceptions not to be abusively used as support for commercial objectives;

Removed19. Supports the European Ocean Pact’s commitment to establishing a pan-European ocean observation initiative as a cornerstone for improving the understanding and management of marine ecosystems; calls for enhanced cooperation within the EU on research and innovation to strengthen marine scientific collaboration and reinforce EU leadership in oceanography;

Added34. Stresses that the designation of any marine protected areas (MPAs) must be preceded by full impact assessments and the effective consultation of concerned stakeholders, and must have clear objectives and effective monitoring, control and surveillance measures, based on the best available scientific knowledge and advice; highlights the need to take into account the three pillars of sustainable development that must go hand in hand with EU strategic autonomy and the importance of fishers and coastal communities in EU cohesion;

Added35. Recalls the need to pay specific attention to the Arctic region, in line with the 2021 Arctic strategy, and expresses its support in particular for the efforts made on the establishment of the two new MPAs in the eastern Antarctic and the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic Ocean; notes the impact assessments and the opposition to MPA proposals expressed by some parties within the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources; calls for active advocacy of these marine protected areas as part of a necessary response to the growing and potentially unsustainable ambitions of other global actors in these regions and for the bilateral and multilateral efforts to be intensified to secure support for the establishment of new MPAs;

Added36. Stresses that scientific evidence must remain the backbone of decision-making in international ocean governance, serving as a common currency in multilateral negotiations and supporting sustainable governance in fisheries and aquaculture; further emphasises the need to invest in and assist scientific bodies that provide the evidence underpinning such decisions;37. Recalls the importance of the EU’s global leadership in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that recognises the importance of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) as a complementary approach to MPAs; stresses the importance of including OECMs to reach the target of protecting 30 % of the oceans globally by 2030, provided that the OECMs meet the criteria in this framework;

Added38. Supports the European Ocean Pact’s commitment to establishing a pan-European ocean observation initiative as a cornerstone for improving the understanding and management of marine ecosystems; supports the creation of an European Deep Sea Observatory in the Atlantic, while promoting the creation of a global network of observatories that share data and encourage mobility among scientists; calls for enhanced cooperation within the EU on research and innovation to strengthen marine scientific collaboration and mobility and reinforce EU leadership in marine science; calls for the EU, in view of the backsliding observed in certain global partners’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to step up its efforts in and commitment to scientific cooperation for the preservation of marine and coastal ecosystems; underlines the need to provide adequate financial support;39. Calls on the Commission to establish, under the European Ocean Pact, a dedicated ‘clean Baltic’ initiative addressing the unique environmental and safety challenges of the Baltic Sea; underlines that the sea basin remains heavily affected by eutrophication, pollution and the presence of hazardous wartime remnants, including munitions, chemical agents and other contaminants on the seabed;

Trade policy and global ocean governance

Change 17

Removed20. Stresses the EU’s responsibility to maintain leadership in international forums by driving multilateralism, engaging with the United States and setting global standards for marine sustainability and fair competition;

Added40. Stresses the EU’s responsibility to maintain its leadership role in international forums by driving multilateralism, engaging with all relevant partners in fisheries’ sustainability and ocean governance, including the United States and China, and setting global standards for marine sustainability and fair competition; highlights, furthermore, the important role of the advisory councils, such as the Long Distance Advisory Council, in giving advice to the Commission on policy formulation and implementation; points out the importance of their advice being duly taken into account in decision-making;41. Welcomes the entry into force of the WTO’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies; underlines that this agreement is a milestone in the elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity, thereby fostering a level playing field and sustainable management of marine resources worldwide; encourages the Commission to build on this success through ocean diplomacy, by engaging proactively with non-EU countries, in particular with major fishing nations, to promote the ratification and effective implementation of this agreement and ongoing negotiations to agree the next steps, and to advance global commitments for sustainable, transparent and equitable fisheries management;

Removed21. Welcomes the decision adopted by the Specialised Committee on Fisheries establishing long-term arrangements between the EU and the United Kingdom, granting full reciprocal access to fishing waters until 30 June 2038; asks the Commission to remain firm against any unilateral decisions that would de facto reduce EU fishers’ access to UK waters;

Added42. Stresses that well-managed RFMOs, catering for effective multilateral negotiations resulting in strong common rules and good compliance of those rules, are central to achieving competitiveness in fisheries and aquaculture, thereby highlighting the importance of investment in the capacity of these RFMOs, of cooperation with UN agencies and of strengthening the EU’s diplomacy in these forums; stresses that the RFMO compliance bodies remain underused by the EU and calls, therefore, on the Commission to raise and address cases of non-compliance by non-EU countries in the relevant RFMO compliance committees;

Removed22. Calls on the EU to intensify its engagement with Norway through the high-level roundtable on fisheries and oceans dialogue to resolve outstanding issues and ensure a fair and level playing field between EU and Norwegian fishers;

Added43. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen customs checks with enhanced powers, making full use of a new EU customs agency to protect fishers from traffickers of drugs and migrants and from other illicit activities that threaten fishers’ safety and regional stability; recalls that ensuring the traceability of seafood products, effective compliance with sustainability standards and reciprocity with non-EU countries in fishery and aquaculture products protects fishers from illegal activities and maintains consumer confidence; emphasises that criminal networks using the fisheries sector in their operations undermine sustainable ocean governance, distort local economies and endanger livelihoods in coastal regions; stresses that effectively tackling organised crime in fisheries will contribute to a safer and more resilient ocean economy;

Removed23. Calls on the Commission to provide greater legal clarity on non-sustainable fishing practices that could trigger EU enforcement measures, including trade restrictions such as import bans, in order to strengthen the EU’s ability to address unsustainable practices globally;

Added44. Welcomes the long-term arrangements between the EU and the United Kingdom that grant full reciprocal access to fishing waters until 30 June 2038; asks the Commission to exercise vigilance in monitoring the actions that are taken by the UK, in order to safeguard the interests of the EU and of its operators and citizens, and to remain firmly opposed to any unilateral decisions that would de facto reduce EU fishers’ access to UK waters, such as those related to the implementation or planned designation of MPAs and the sand eel fishing ban, and to use the mechanisms of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to remedy any resulting loss of fishing rights; calls on the Commission to also ensure long-term and stable EU-UK fisheries arrangements beyond 2038;

Added45. Calls for the EU to intensify its engagement with Norway through the high-level roundtable on fisheries and oceans dialogue, to resolve outstanding issues such as the cod debt from 2021 owed by Norway to the EU and to ensure a fair and level playing field between EU and Norwegian fishers; calls on the Commission to make every effort to reach a comprehensive agreement on shared stocks with coastal states in order to prevent overfishing of those stocks and to guarantee EU fishers fair and sustainable fishing opportunities; calls on the Commission to make use of all the options offered by Regulation 1026/2012 with regard to countries that allow unsustainable fishing, including sanctions;

Added46. Stresses that the EU should use its market power as a strategic tool to defend its interests and promote sustainability; underlines that access to the EU market must be conditional on compliance with EU standards, ensuring that seafood imported into the EU does not originate from illegal or unsustainable sources or from activities linked to human rights abuses;

Added47. Highlights the EU’s long-standing relationship with Greenland on fisheries-related matters and points out the importance of deepening the relationship for EU fishers and for joint actions to ensure sustainable management of fish stocks in the North Atlantic;

Added48. Calls on the Commission to ensure proper and full implementation of EU rules related to non-EU countries allowing non-sustainable fishing, to provide greater legal clarity on non-sustainable fishing practices and to trigger EU enforcement measures under EU law, including trade restrictions such as import bans, in order to strengthen the EU’s ability to address unsustainable practices, particularly those affecting small-pelagic stocks such as mackerel, and to ensure consistency between trade policy and ocean diplomacy objectives; stresses that many of these practices are already well identified yet insufficiently addressed by current enforcement measures;49. Urges the Commission to strengthen monitoring, control and enforcement mechanisms concerning Russian fishing activities and seafood trade flows, including transhipments and re-exports through non-EU countries; calls for further restrictions on imports of fisheries products from Russia; calls for strict traceability requirements and coordinated inspections to be introduced and for the entry into the EU market of fish caught or processed by Russian operators to be prevented;

Added50. Stresses the importance of ensuring consistency between the standards imposed on EU producers and those applied to imported products, particularly in the context of current or future trade agreements between the EU and its trade partners, for example by introducing mirror measures; calls, furthermore, on the Commission to continue assessing the relevance of autonomous tariff quotas in view of their impact on the EU fishing industry and to adapt them where necessary; reiterates its call for canned fish and seafood to be treated as ‘sensitive products’ in trade negotiations; calls on the EU authorities to exercise caution and step up controls to ensure that any exports benefiting from autonomous tariff quotas are not a product of IUU fishing;

Added51. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the CFP objectives are fully integrated into the EU’s position in all international forums, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, where marine biological resources, including fisheries resources, are discussed;

Budgetary and institutional measures

Change 18

Changed24.52. Strongly insists on the need for significant funding for ocean governance and diplomacy, especially in order to maintain a strategic fishing sector;sector, to ensure that the EU can deliver on its global commitments, strengthen its strategic role and support the future resilience of coastal communities; notes with concern that the proposals for the next multiannual financial framework indicate ana allocationring-fencing of only EUR 2 billion tofor fisheries and aquaculture for the 2028-2034 period, representing barely one third of its previous guaranteed funding level;

Change 19

Removed25. Calls on the Commission to ensure that fishers and stakeholders in the blue economy have effective and simpler access to financing instruments, such as the European Competitiveness Fund, which supports investment in a sustainable blue economy, and Global Europe – the EU Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, which underpins ocean diplomacy and efforts to combat IUU fishing, as well as complementary funding sources such as the Just Transition Fund, REPowerEU, Horizon Europe and the European Investment Bank;

Added53. Calls on the Commission to guarantee an adequate level of funding in the post-2028 multiannual financial framework for fisheries-related expenditure, such as the objectives currently covered in the EMFAF; points out the importance of EU funds remaining a strong tool to support generational renewal, gender equality, food security, fleet modernisation and socio-economic sustainability;

Added54. Highlights the crucial role of small-scale fisheries in sustaining local economies and communities across the world; stresses that, for the EU to improve its strategic and food autonomy, it is crucial to rebuild EU stocks and, in order to create the conditions for the EU’s long-term resilience and competitiveness, it is essential for the EU’s small-scale fishing sector to be adequately supported both by the EU and at national level;55. Notes that all diplomacy implies a costly projection capacity, and it would therefore be appropriate to establish a specific financial instrument for fisheries in island and outermost regions, for instance by re-establishing the Programme of Options Specifically Relating to Remoteness and Insularity (POSEI-Fisheries), which has been integrated into the EMFAF, in order to support the sector in overcoming geographical and structural constraints and ensuring the long-term viability of local fishing communities; highlights the importance of ensuring the use of current tools, such as the Copernicus Marine Service, and new capabilities or technologies, such as drones;

Added56. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that fishers and stakeholders in the blue economy have effective and simpler access to financing instruments, with the allocation of minimum dedicated funds, such as the European Competitiveness Fund, which supports investment in a sustainable blue economy, and the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, which underpins ocean governance and diplomacy and efforts to combat IUU fishing, as well as funding for SFPAs and complementary funding sources such as the Just Transition Fund, REPowerEU, Horizon Europe and the European Investment Bank; urges the Commission to guarantee sufficient administrative and legal stability for private investments to foster the development of maritime sectors;

°

° °

57. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.