Six member states have signed a joint declaration defending considerably large subsidies to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

Alicia Villauriz, secretary general for maritime affairs of the Spanish government, at the meeting with the six member states. Photo: www.marm.es

The signatory governments – France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Belgium – write that “a strong financial instrument dedicated to supporting the industry must be maintained.” Their joint declaration has been sent to fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki.

Later this year the European Commission is expected to present its proposal for the new financial instrument that will replace the current European Fisheries Fund. Commissioner Damanaki has previously stated that she will not propose more money for increasing the capacity of vessels.

In view of this, the six member states signing the joint declaration emphasise their commitment to maintaining funding for “modernizing vessels in a targeted manner, in particular to reduce energy consumption, promote more selective fishing methods, improve on-board security while taking account of the diversity of European fleets, and support young fishermen.”

The six member states call for funding to be maintained at at least the same level as for the 2007-2013 period.

It may be noted that recent research has shown that fisheries become more profitable when subsidies are removed.

Axel Naver

Dowload the document:
Joint Declaration on the Future Financial Instrument of the Common Fisheries Policy (French & English in the same document).

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