State aid – fishery and aquaculture sectors

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2022/2473 declaring certain categories of aid to undertakings active in the production, processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATIONS?

Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2473, known as the fishery block exemption regulation, confirms the specific categories of aid that are compatible with European Union (EU) State aid rules. It exempts them from prior notification to, and approval by, the European Commission.
The changes enable EU Member States to provide aid quickly, simplify procedures and increase transparency, evaluation and control of the financial assistance given.
Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 sets out the rules for de minimis* aid in the fishery and aquaculture sectors. It lays down the conditions under which State aid is exempt from the ban in Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and does not need to be notified to the Commission under Article 108(3) of the treaty.
It states the terms for the aid and places limits on the amounts allowed.

KEY POINTS

Regulation (EU) 2022/2473 applies to the following categories of aid to:

micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs as defined in Annex I) involved in producing, processing or marketing fishery and aquaculture products;
municipalities in community-led local development projects;
fishing ports, landing sites, auction halls and shelters;
companies involved in producing, processing or marketing fishery and aquaculture products to:
- make good the damage from natural disasters and adverse climate, such as floods or severe drought,
- repair damage caused by protected animals*,
- innovate in fisheries and aquaculture.

It sets out:

the various thresholds above which aid must be notified;
rules on maximum aid intensity (Annex IV) and eligible costs;
specific conditions for each category of aid.

Aid must:

be transparent to make possible the precise calculation of the gross grant equivalent (grants, loans, interest rate subsidies and subsidised services, for instance);
provide an incentive, i.e. a potential beneficiary has submitted a written request for aid before starting the project or activity;
be published on national and Commission websites (Annexes II and III set out the requirements).

The regulation requires:

the Commission to instruct Member States to notify future aid, if it finds the aid already given does not meet the conditions in the regulation;
Member States to:
- send to the Commission a summary of each aid measure they give and provide an annual report,
- maintain detailed records, with supporting documentation, for at least 10 years;
independent experts to evaluate aid schemes after their implementation, if spending is over €150 million in one year or €750 million for the life of the scheme.

The regulation applies the following general conditions:

beneficiary’s compliance with the common fisheries policy;
sustainable fisheries:
- a vessel which has received aid may not be transferred or reflagged for at least 5 years from the final payment,
- operating costs are not eligible unless expressly provided for;
sustainable aquaculture:
- aid is limited to fish farms and not allowed for activities in marine protected areas,
- aid is not granted to farming of genetically modified organisms.

The regulation applies to the following aid categories.

Fostering sustainable fisheries and the restoration and conservation of aquatic biological resources:
- innovation in fisheries;
- advisory services;
- partnerships between scientists and fishers;
- promotion of human capital and social dialogue;
- diversification and new forms of income;
- purchase of a first fishing vessel;
- improvement of health, safety and working conditions for fishers;
- payment of insurance premiums and financial contributions to mutual funds;
- systems allocating fishing opportunities;
- limiting fishing’s environmental impact and adapting fishing to protect species;
- innovation linked to conservation of marine biological resources;
- protection and restoration of marine biodiversity and ecosystems;
- improvement of energy efficiency and mitigation of climate change effects;
- added value, product quality and use of unwanted catches;
- fishing ports, landing sites, auction halls and shelters;
- inland fishing and inland aquatic fauna and flora.
Fostering sustainable aquaculture:
- innovation in aquaculture;
- improvements in productivity or positive impacts on the aquaculture environment;
- management, relief and advisory services;
- promotion of human capital and networking;
- increase in potential of aquaculture sites;
- encouragement for new producers practising sustainable fish farming;
- conversion to eco-management, audit schemes and organic aquaculture;
- environmental services;
- public health;
- animal health and welfare;
- prevention, control and eradication of disease;
- prevention and mitigation of damage from animal disease;
- aquaculture stock insurance.
Marketing and processing of fishery and aquaculture products;
Other aid:
- collection, management, use and processing of data;
- prevention and mitigation of, and making good, damage from natural disasters, adverse climatic events and protected animals;
- community-led local development projects.

The regulation replaces Regulation (EU) No 1388/2014.

Regulation (EU) No 717/2014

This regulation applies to aid to fishery and aquaculture companies except for aid for:
- products based on price or quantity offered for sale, for export to non-EU countries or dependent on the use of domestic goods;
- the purchase of fishing vessels;
- the modernisation or replacement of engines of fishing vessels;
- measures increasing a vessel’s fishing capacity;
- the construction of new, or the importation of, fishing vessels;
- temporary or permanent cessation of fishing activity;
- exploratory fishing;
- the transfer of ownership of a business;
- restocking.
The regulation sets basic limits over 3 fiscal years of national aid to:
- a single recipient (of €30,000);
- all recipients (the Annex lists the maximum cumulative amount for each Member State).
It also requires Member States to:
- monitor the individual and national ceilings, and recommends they operate a national central register;
- ensure aid is transparent by expressing it as a gross cash grant, in the case of grants or interest rate subsidies, or its equivalent for loans, capital injections, risk finance and guarantees;
- grant new de minimis aid solely under the terms of the regulation;
- keep records for 10 years;
- provide the Commission with any information it requests in writing.

The Commission will adopt final amendments to the regulation during 2023.

FROM WHEN DO THE REGULATIONS APPLY?

Regulation (EU) 2022/2473 applies from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2029.
Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 applies from 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2023 (as prolonged by Regulations (EU) 2020/2008 and 2022/2514).

BACKGROUND

Regulation 2022/2473 is part of a package of measures the Commission adopted revising State aid rules on fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture and forestry.

The revised rules align State aid with the EU’s strategic priorities, notably the common fisheries policy and the European Green Deal.

For further information, see:

State aid: Commission adopts new rules for agriculture, forestry and fishery and aquaculture sectors (European Commission)
Guidelines for State aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (see summary).

KEY TERMS

De minimis. Small amounts of national State aid which do not need to be notified to the Commission.

Protected animal. Any animal other than fish protected by EU or national legislation.

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2473 of 14 December 2022 declaring certain categories of aid to undertakings active in the production, processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (OJ L 327, 21.12.2022, pp. 82–139).

Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June 2014 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ L 190, 28.6.2014, pp. 45–54).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.