Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The purpose of this proposal is the establishment of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) for the 2021-2027 period. The Fund aims to support the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the Union's maritime policy and the Union's international commitments in the field of ocean governance, especially in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The proposal takes into account the need to reduce regulatory burdens and to simplify the delivery of the Fund. It also takes into account the particular needs of small beneficiaries, with a higher aid intensity rate and specific forms of support for beneficiaries from small-scale coastal fisheries.

The proposal aims to simplify the delivery of the EMFF compared to the complex architecture under the current 2014-2020 period. The 2014-2020 EMFF is indeed based on a precise and rigid description of financing possibilities and eligibility rules ('measures'), which has complicated the implementation for Member States and beneficiaries. Therefore, the proposal for the 2021-2027 Fund was intended to move towards a simplified architecture along the following elements:

– 4 priorities – These priorities describe the scope of support of the Fund in line with the objectives of the CFP, of the maritime policy and of the international ocean governance actions.

– Areas of support – The articles of the proposal do not lay down prescriptive measures but describe the different areas of support under each priority, providing a flexible framework for implementation.

– No predefined measures or eligibility rules at Union level – Under shared management, it is up to Member States to draw up their programme indicating therein the most appropriate means for achieving the priorities of the Fund. They will be granted flexibility in the setting of the eligibility rules. A variety of measures identified by the Member States in the programmes may be supported under the rules set out in the Fund and in the Common Provisions Regulation, provided they are covered by the areas of support.

– Conditions and restrictions for certain areas – It is necessary to set out a list of ineligible operations so as to avoid detrimental impacts in terms of fisheries conservation, for example a general prohibition of investments enhancing fishing capacity. Moreover, investments and compensations for the fishing fleet (permanent cessation of fishing activities, extraordinary cessation of fishing activities, acquisition of a vessel, engine replacement) will be strictly conditional upon their consistency with the conservation objectives of the CFP. This is key for ensuring that financial support is targeted to the achievement of those objectives.

– Result indicators – The performance of EMFF support will be assessed on the basis of indicators. Member States will report on progress towards established milestones and targets and the Commission will carry out an annual performance review based on annual performance reports prepared by Member States, allowing for early detection of potential implementation issues and corrective actions. A monitoring and evaluation framework will be established for that purpose.

Instead of listing the measures selected from a menu of eligible actions as previously under the EMFF, the national programmes should focus on the strategic priorities chosen by each Member State. This architecture will optimise programme implementation towards policy objectives on the basis of performance, in the context of an on-going dialogue between the Commission and Member States on the achievement of results. Flexibility, result-orientation and mutual trust between the Commission and Member States are thus the three principles of an effective simplification.

Estimated savings and benefits

The results of the ex-post evaluation of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) 2007-2013 were taken into account as key element of the impact assessment to examine the options to continue financial support for the fisheries sector after 2020.

Its main recommendations for post-2020 were to improve the link between funding and policy objectives, the sustainable exploitation of fisheries as well as the protection and enhancement of the environment and natural resources by minimising the negative impacts on the marine environment. The impact assessement also highlighted a large consensus between the stakeholders calling for a certain level of stability, notably through a greater simplification at all levels (both Union and national) regarding the implementation of the EMFF.

The proposed provisions comply with the proportionality principle as they are appropriate, necessary and no other less restrictive measures are available to obtain the desired policy objectives. The proposal aims to simplify the delivery of the Fund compared to the complex architecture under the 2014-2020 period, resulting in a broad scope of eligible actions. The absence of an exhaustive list of prescriptive measures should give Member States the needed flexibility to adjust support to their specific needs. Simplification will also be achieved through the Common Provisions Regulation, where most provisions related to implementation, monitoring and control are set out.

Outcome of Legislative Procedure

The legislator adopted the Regulation in July 2021, changing the name of the fund into ‘European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund’. The proposed simplification objectives were retained with no significant variations from the Commission proposal. The precise and rigid description of financing possibilities and eligibility rules (‘measures’) in the previous fund is replaced by a simpler structure. The proposal included four priorities and corresponding “areas of support”. The “areas of support” are replaced by ten “specific objectives”. These are of broader scope than the “areas of support”. They describe the scope of support along thematic areas (e.g. protection of biodiversity, promotion of sustainable aquaculture, collection of scientific data).

The change to “specific objectives” and further introduction of “types of intervention” helped to align even more closely with the other funds under the Common Provisions Regulation.

The other principles of the proposal are largely unchanged. There are clear conditions and prohibitions for a limited number of topics, specifically in the case of support to the fishing fleet, and a set of common result indicators and core performance indicators are included Annex I of the adopted regulation.

The secondary legislation pertaining to the EMFAF was completed in November 2022.

The vast majority of Member State programmes are expected to be adopted by the end of the 2022.

Implementation by the Commission

The second report on the Common Monitoring and Evaluation System for the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund has been adopted on 14 June 2022.

The mid-term evaluation of European Maritime, Aquaculture and Fisheries Fund (EMFAF) is planned to be finalised by 2024.