European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (2014–2020)

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 – the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) aims to help coastal populations and those working in the fishing and aquaculture sectors to adapt to the European Union (EU) common fisheries policy (CFP) for the 2014–2020 period.

KEY POINTS

Budget and priorities

With a budget of €6.5 billion for the 2014–2020 period, the EMFF aims to:

rebuild fish stocks, reduce the impact of fishing on the marine environment and gradually eliminate discards*;
support small-scale, local fishing and young fishers;
help communities to diversify their local economy;
fund projects that will create jobs and improve the quality of life on Europe’s coasts;
support European aquaculture (fish and shellfish farming);
finance the improvement of scientific knowledge of the marine environment and the collection of relevant data so that decisions are taken based on reliable information;
strengthen fishery control programmes;
support innovative investments in fishing vessels, for example to improve fishing gear selectivity*;
support (under certain conditions) investment in equipment or on board aimed at reducing the emission of pollutants or greenhouse gases;
improve the marketing and processing in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors;
support the EU’s integrated maritime policy by facilitating coordination across borders and between sectors (e.g. maritime spatial planning, integrated maritime surveillance and improving knowledge on the state of the marine environment).

Implementation

The EMFF co-finances projects with EU Member States that provide national funding. Member States draw up operational programmes stating how they intend to spend the money allocated. Once the European Commission approves these programmes, it is up to the national authorities to decide which projects will be funded.
Since the adoption of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014, the Commission has adopted rules mainly dealing with detailed technical aspects of its implementation. These include:
- how Member States should present cumulative data on fishing operations and the information that they need to provide to the Commission;
- the contents and setting up of a system to monitor and evaluate the operations that receive funding;
- the format and presentation of annual reports of funded programmes;
- detailed conditions on the interrupting and suspending of payments to Member States that do not comply with CFP rules.
A full list of implementing and delegated acts is available on the EMFF website.

COVID-19 pandemic temporary measures – amendment to the regulation

Specific measures, available until 31 December 2020, to mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic were introduced under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/560. These allowed a more flexible reallocation of financial resources within each Member State’s operational programme and simplified the procedure for amending operational programmes. Under certain conditions, they also allowed the EMFF to provide:
- support for the temporary cessation of fishing activities;
- compensation for certain economic losses incurred by aquaculture producers and processing enterprises;
- working capital for aquaculture producers and processing enterprises; and
- support for producer organisations and associations of producer organisations for the storage of fishery and aquaculture products.

Measures to alleviate the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine – amendment to the regulation

Amending Regulation (EU) 2022/1278 allows Member States to amend their operational programmes in order to use the EMFF’s remaining resources to compensate operators and producers for their lost income, along with the additional costs incurred because of the war, such as the increase in energy, raw materials and fish feed prices.
Fishers who had to cease their activities due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine can also receive EMFF support.
Support is provided retroactively from 24 February 2022, when the Russian aggression started, at a co-financing rate of 75% of the eligible public expenditure.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 has applied since 1 January 2014.
Amending Regulation (EU) 2022/1278 has applied since 23 July 2022.

BACKGROUND

The EMFF is the financial instrument supporting the CFP for the 2014–2020 period. It is one of the five EU Structural and Investment Funds that complement each other and aim to promote growth and jobs.

KEY TERMS

Discards. The dumping at sea of unwanted catches – returning fish to the sea either dead or alive because they are too small, because the fisher has no quota to catch them or because of certain catch composition rules.

Fishing gear selectivity. Gear that targets and captures fish by size and species, and allows other fish to be avoided or to be released unharmed.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, pp. 1–66).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EU) 2020/560 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 508/2014 and (EU) No 1379/2013 as regards specific measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID‐19 outbreak in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ L 130, 24.4.2020, pp. 11–17).

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/852 of 27 March 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the cases of non-compliance and the cases of serious non-compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy that may lead to an interruption of a payment deadline or suspension of payments under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (OJ L 135, 2.6.2015, pp. 13–17).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1362/2014 of 18 December 2014 laying down rules on a simplified procedure for the approval of certain amendments to operational programmes financed under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and rules concerning the format and presentation of the annual reports on the implementation of those programmes (OJ L 365, 19.12.2014, pp. 124–136).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1243/2014 of 20 November 2014 laying down rules pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund with regard to the information to be sent by Member States, as well as on data needs and synergies between potential data sources (OJ L 334, 21.11.2014, pp. 39–51).

See consolidated version.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1242/2014 of 20 November 2014 laying down rules pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund with regard to the presentation of relevant cumulative data on operations (OJ L 334, 21.11.2014, pp. 11–38).

See consolidated version.

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1014/2014 of 22 July 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regards to the content and construction of a common monitoring and evaluation system for the operations funded under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (OJ L 283, 27.9.2014, pp. 11–19).

See consolidated version.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 763/2014 of 11 July 2014 laying down rules for applying Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund as regards the technical characteristics of information and publicity measures and instructions for creating the Union emblem (OJ L 209, 16.7.2014, pp.1–4).

Commission Implementing Decision 2014/372/EU of 11 June 2014 setting out the annual breakdown by Member State of the global resources of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund available in the framework of shared management for the period 2014-2020 (OJ L 180, 20.6.2014, pp. 18–20).

last update 07.10.2022

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