ROADMAP

Roadmaps aim to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work in order to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities. Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to make available any relevant information that they may have.

Title of the initiative

Strategic Guidelines for EU aquaculture Update

Lead DG – responsible unit

DG MARE – Unit A2

Likely Type of initiative

Communication

Indicative Planning

3rd Quarter 2020

Additional Information

https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/aquaculture/

This Roadmap is provided for information purposes only and its content might change. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the Roadmap, including its timing, are subject to change.

A. Context, Problem definition and Subsidiarity Check

Context

EU Regulation No 1380/2013 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP Regulation) sets as one of its objectives the promotion of aquaculture production in the EU in a way that is sustainable from the environmental, economic and social point of view. This Regulation establishes a voluntary method of coordination among Member States facilitated by the Commission (called “Open Method of Coordination”). The Regulation also calls on the Commission to develop non-binding strategic guidelines for the sustainable growth of the sector and on EU Member States to adopt Multiannual National Strategic Plans on aquaculture taking into consideration the specificities of their respective sector. Pursuant to the CFP Regulation, the Commission adopted the Communication "Strategic Guidelines for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture” (COM(2013) 229 final). These guidelines served as the basis for the drafting and adoption by EU Member States of their multiannual national strategic plans.

The Commission recently conducted an interim evaluation of the Open Method of Coordination for sustainable development of EU aquaculture (SWD(2020) 6 final). The evaluation was informed by the study entitled Interim evaluation of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) for the sustainable development of EU Aquaculture. This evaluation has assessed both national and EU efforts to promote the development of the sector and concluded, inter alia, on the need to revise the Strategic Guidelines in order to take into consideration recent developments in the sector.

The revision of the Strategic Guidelines on EU Aquaculture is also an opportunity to ensure that the EU aquaculture sector will play its role in the new agenda of the EU laid down in the Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2019-2024. In particular, the sustainable development of EU aquaculture can contribute to the “European Green Deal”, the “Farm to Fork Strategy” on sustainable food systems across the value chain, or the preservation of rural and coastal areas. The revision of the Guidelines is also appropriate in view of the new programming period for EU Funds, including the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The Guidelines should also guide EU Member States in their efforts to update existing multiannual national strategic plans for aquaculture.

Problem the initiative aims to tackle

Aquaculture has an important role to play both in terms of quality food supply and the economic development of coastal and inland rural areas. While showing a slight improvement after many years of stagnation, the EU aquaculture sector is still far from reaching its potential. The EU imports two thirds of the seafood it consumes. The gap between EU high fish consumption (23.1 kg per person and per year) and the production of EU capture fisheries has been steadily growing in the last years. Even when fished at Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) levels, fisheries alone cannot satisfy the growing demand for seafood. While sustainable aquaculture products would be able to address this gap, also alleviating pressure on wild stocks, aquaculture in the EU represents only around 10% of EU seafood consumption.

The sector’s development has been hampered by several types of barriers. Some of these barriers were already identified in the current Strategic Guidelines, such as complex administrative procedures or access to space, where EU Member States have made some but not sufficient progress. EU aquaculture also faces new challenges such as the impact of climate change. Finally, promoting sustainable EU aquaculture can play an important role in addressing some of current policy challenges identified in the political priorities of the new Commission, such as decarbonisation, circularity, combating pollution (e.g. algae and molluscs farming can help address nutrient pollution), food security, and the preservation of rural and coastal communities.

Basis for EU intervention (legal basis and subsidiarity check)

The development of aquaculture falls within the scope of the Treaty provisions on Agriculture and Fisheries (cf. Articles 38-44 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)), in particular in relation to the objectives of stabilising markets, assuring the availability of supplies and ensuring that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices. While the development of aquaculture primarily depends on the priorities and decisions taken at national and/or regional level, EU guidance to Member States and stakeholders on best practices for the sustainable development of the sector are of added-value to achieving the Treaty objectives, in full respect of the principle of subsidiarity. Coordination at EU level is needed to avoid market distortions, as many factors shaping EU aquaculture have cross-border implications. The EU guidance’s goal is to ensure that the development of aquaculture is not hindered by the complexity of regulation and to facilitate a coordinated approach to the transnational challenges faced by the aquaculture sector, in full respect of Member States competence. Under Article 34 of the CFP Regulation, the Commission is required to establish non-binding Union strategic guidelines on common priorities and targets for development of sustainable aquaculture activities. The recommendations presented by the Guidelines will be of a voluntary nature, respecting also the principle of proportionality.

B. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how

Article 34(1) of the CFP Regulation presents as main objective of the EU Guidelines on Aquaculture, the promotion of a sustainable aquaculture in the EU that creates growth and jobs and contributes to food security and supplies. According to this regulation, the Strategic Guidelines should further aim at

a)improving the competitiveness of the aquaculture industry and supporting its development and innovation;

b)reducing the administrative burden and making the implementation of Union law more efficient and responsive to the needs of stakeholders;

c)encouraging economic activity;

d)diversification and improvement of the quality of life in coastal and inland areas;

e)Integrating aquaculture activities into maritime, coastal and inland spatial planning.

The updated Guidelines on Aquaculture will ensure that these objectives will continue to be pursued, by providing updated strategic guidance to Member States and stakeholders. Furthermore, this initiative will also contribute to achieving the objectives drawn under the new policy priorities of the Commission such as the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Green Deal, in particular in terms of social and environmental sustainability and climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

The Guidelines will consolidate lessons learnt in the context of the Open Method of Coordination for aquaculture and identify good practices on different areas, including administrative burden, spatial planning, consumer information, producers and market organization, environmental performance of the sector, animal health and welfare and innovation.

C. Better regulation

Consultation of citizens and stakeholders

The updated Strategic Guidelines will be the result of a broad consultation process aimed at gathering views from a broad range of EU stakeholders on the challenges and potential of EU aquaculture and the best way to address them. The consultation is addressed to all stakeholders, which have an interest on EU aquaculture, from producers to consumers and civil society organizations. The following consultation activities are planned and/or on-going:

-A public consultation is planned to be launched in April 2020, and will run for 12 weeks. The questionnaire will be made available in the 24 EU official languages and the replies can also be submitted in all the official languages. The consultation will be accessible via the Commission's central public consultations page.

-Consultation to Member States is on-going, both in the context of the regular work of the Commission with Member States experts on Aquaculture, and within the Fisheries Council Working Party.

-The Commission will also involve in the process of the update of the strategic guidelines (through dedicated meetings) other EU Institutions, such as the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee.   

-The Commission has also requested the Aquaculture Advisory Council (a stakeholder representative organisation established pursuant to Articles 34 and 44 of the CFP Regulation for consultation on elements of Union policies which could affect aquaculture) to contribute to the work on the update of the guidelines.

The public consultation will be announced in relevant Commission webpages, via Member States permanent representations, and in the numerous events on aquaculture that the Commission attends throughout Europe. DG MARE will also use its monthly newsletter and broad stakeholder contact list to invite participants to contribute to this initiative.

Evidence base and data collection

A recent “interim evaluation of the “Open Method of Coordination (OMC) for the sustainable development of EU Aquaculture” has assessed both national and EU efforts to promote the development of the sector and concluded on the need to revise the Strategic Guidelines in order to take into consideration recent developments in the sector. The evaluation encouraging additional supporting measures to foster the sustainable development of the sector was recently published (SWD(2020) 6 final). In a similar vein, a Food From the Oceans report, developed by the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism, underlined that aquaculture should continue to grow to meet the increasing demand for seafood (since wild stocks are limited) in a sustainable manner and promoting diversification and low trophic species. Taking into account that this initiative will review an existing policy document (Communication "Strategic Guidelines for the sustainable development of EU aquaculture" in 2013 (COM(2013) 229 final), providing good practice examples and non-binding advice on actions for the development of the aquaculture sector in the EU, no significant impacts are to be expected. The policy objectives, established in articles 2 and 34 of the CFP, will remain the same. Thus, no impact assessment is deemed necessary.