Regulation (EU) 2020/560

What it is

to adopt specific measures to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the fisheries and aquaculture sector. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: the fishery and aquaculture sector has been particularly hard hit by the market disruption generated by a significant drop in demand following the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis can consequently have dramatic socio-economic consequences in certain communities where fishing and aquaculture play a key role. Small-scale coastal fisheries represent close to 75% of all active vessels and over 55% of direct employment; they constitute the main economic activity in many coastal areas. The European Parliament legislative adopted a resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 as regards specific measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in the fishery and aquaculture sector. The proposal aims at mitigating the social and economic impacts of the spread of COVID-19 in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. To this end, it amends the Regulation on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the Regulation on the common organisation of the market (CMO). The European Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure by means of an urgent procedure. The specific measures proposed include: support for the temporary cessation of fishing activities, including for inland fishing and fishers on foot, and for certain economic losses for aquaculture producers and processing enterprises and in the outermost regions, provided that they are the consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak; the provision of working capital to aquaculture producers and processing enterprises and support to producer organisations and associations of producer organisations for the storage of fishery and aquaculture products; flexibility to use 10% of the budgetary funds allocated to fisheries control and scientific data collection for measures related to mitigating the effects of the spread of COVID-19; the addition of fishermen on foot to the number of people eligible for aid in the event of temporary cessation; for measures related to mitigating the COVID-19 outbreak, the proportional reduction of the 120-day activity requirement for owners of vessels registered for less than two years and for fishers who started working less than two years before applying for support; the addition of provisions in favour of the outermost regions to deal with the consequences of the crisis; the aim is to compensate fishermen for the economic losses resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, in particular those resulting from the deterioration in the price of fish or increased storage costs. Expenditure for operations supported under those measures shall be eligible as of 1 February 2020. The proposal is part of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative+ (CRII+) package, which…

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