EMFF plenary vote: Investing in a sustainable future
The European Parliament, sitting in plenary session in Strasbourg this week for the second plenary session of October, has voted on MEP Cadec's report on the EMFF and on MEP Patrao-Neves' report on Marine Knowledge 2020.
The Commission has welcomed the Parliament's vote on the 2014-2020 European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). This vote is a crucial step to securing political agreement by the end of the year which would allow the fund to be in place as of January 2014.
The Commission is pleased to note that the European Parliament has rejected public aid to vessel construction and has set clear limits on the amounts of public funding Member States can spend on fleets.
Commissioner Damanaki welcomed the outcome of the vote: "I am pleased with the overall outcome of the vote. In particular, I welcome the decision to reject spending EU taxpayers' money on building new fishing vessels and to cap the amount of funds Member States can spend on fishing fleets. This will allow the EMFF to focus on funding projects which promote a sustainable future for the fishing industry and coastal communities. I also welcome that Parliament decided that all stakeholders should be able to benefit from support contributing to their participation in Advisory Councils".
As per MEP Patrao-Neves' report, the Commission welcomes the support of the Parliament of its efforts to ensure marine data is widely available in order to support the development of the "Blue Economy".
Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy
Blue Growth: marine and maritime sustainable growth for Europe