What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Removed:16. Underlines that the relative stability, established four decades ago, is widely accepted as an essential instrument to provide long-term predictability and continuity in sharing fish stocks between countries; stresses, however, that the gap between national quota allocations and the actual interests of Member States’ fishing fleets has significantly increased over time and has been further exacerbated by Brexit; stresses also that climate change has a considerable impact on the distribution of fish stocks;

Added:30. Stresses that in fisheries under quota management the problem of choke species has the potential to shut down fishing operations before the end of the season with potentially significant economic implications for fishers; calls on the Commission and the Member States to use current CFP possibilities, like quota swaps or inter-annual and inter-species flexibilities, while underlining in this regard that a good quota system should include a fair degree of flexibility, as it would allow fishers who need extra quotas for a choke species and fishers who have available quotas to arrive at a mutually beneficial outcome;

Removed:17. Believes therefore that it is necessary to adjust the present relative stability while preserving the basic tenets of this principle; to this end, calls on the Commission to provide a comprehensive assessment of the present relative stability and of possible scenarios for adaptation;

Added:31. Calls on the Commission and the Council to consider setting TACs for longer than annual or biannual periods, in particular for the main target stocks, always based on the best scientific advice available, in order to provide more predictability and long-term certainty for fishers and in line with the MSY principle; calls on the Commission and the Council to seek the best available scientific advice on the possibility of removing the TACs for certain stocks, while ensuring that the stock concerned remains within safe biological limits in the short and medium term;

Added:32. Underlines that relative stability, established four decades ago, is widely accepted as an essential instrument to provide long-term predictability and continuity in sharing fish stocks between countries;

Fleet management

Change 9

Removed:18. Calls on the Commission to propose adapting the structural policy in order to facilitate the decarbonisation of the fishing industry and to improve safety and working conditions, notably by fully utilising the available gross tonnage within national capacity ceilings and excluding the ‘social and safety’ related tonnage from the calculation of the fishing capacity;

Added:33. Stresses that, despite international and EU efforts to improve safety conditions on board fishing vessels, there are still shortcomings, i.e. the international conventions setting out the rules and systems for the protection of vessels and persons on board apply above all to larger vessels;

Added:34. Reiterates that on board working and living conditions cannot be seen separately from safety conditions; takes the view that good working and living conditions on vessels and the suitable modernisation thereof, improves safety, as well as resting time for fishers; considers that these aspects have direct implications for safety on board, as a large percentage of accidents and incidents on fishing vessels continue to be linked to human error, whether caused by lack of knowledge, training or by fatigue;

Added:35. Urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure the highest standards of safety on board vessels, irrespective of their size; encourages the sector to implement the best possible conditions for safety on board;

Added:36. Taking into consideration current EMFAF possibilities to support health, safety, working conditions and energy efficiency on board fishing vessels, insists that the current use of gross tonnage as a yardstick for measuring fishing capacity in the EU could hamper improvements in energy efficiency, safety and comfort of vessels, as it limits possibilities to replace and modernise them or increase space, even if it does not increase the vessels’ ability to fish more; stresses that this, in turn, hampers the improvement of the aforementioned features, which would ultimately promote employment, the development of coastal communities and the attractiveness of the sector, especially for young people and women;

Added:37. Takes note of the Commission communication on the Energy Transition of the EU Fisheries and Aquaculture sector, seeking to ensure that the fishing sector contributes to the EU becoming climate neutral in 2050, while ensuring that fishing in the EU is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable; points out that this transition faces a number of obstacles, such as the current definition and limits of fishing capacity; recalls that hydrogen, ammonia or electric engines are generally heavier and larger than equivalent diesel engines and that their installation on board therefore requires additional gross tonnage and that there is a lack of adapted technologies, their high cost and the absence of research and development focusing specifically on the fisheries and aquaculture sectors; regrets that these obstacles are not addressed in the Commission communication;

Added:38. Calls on the Commission to propose measures to respond to the need to facilitate the decarbonisation of the fishing industry, to solve the issue of ageing fishing vessels and to improve safety and working conditions; considers that such measures could, where appropriate, include:

Added:- fully utilising the available gross tonnage within national capacity ceilings,

Added:- redefining fishing capacity, for example, by excluding the ‘social and safety’ related tonnage from the calculation of the fishing capacity,

Added:- increasing the fishing capacity limits in terms of gross tonnage and engine power, without increasing the ability of vessels to catch more fish;

Added:39. Calls on the Commission and Member States to make it easier for industry professionals to access EMFAF funds;

Added:40. Further calls on the Commission and Member States to accelerate research and development, to adapt the State Aid policy and in synergy with the EMFAF to provide adequate and sufficient funding, so that the sector is able to achieve the decarbonisation of the EU fleet within the tight timeframe required by the European Green Deal and other related obligations;

Added:41. Also calls on the Commission to review the EMFAF, in line with the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted at its 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) on 17 June 2022, with a view to reaching carbon neutrality; calls for financing for new vessels to be approved, within the parameters laid down in international fisheries agreements;

Added:42. Further calls for an economic transition assistance to be developed to advance decarbonisation, covering all fleet segments; insists that such assistance should also be used to replace existing vessels, as the fleet is very old, with more efficient, safer, technologically innovative and spacious vessels that contribute to making the sector more attractive and to promoting generational renewal;

Added:43. Calls on the Commission and Member States to complement EMFAF funding, for example through the Just Transition Fund, RePower EU and Horizon Europe to facilitate decarbonisation and to finance research, in order to facilitate a just ecological transition that leaves no one behind;

Added:44. Urges the Commission and Member States to work together to support research and allowing innovative gear and techniques for selective fishing that contribute to substantially reducing CO2 emissions and fuel use;

Regional Multiannual plans

Change 10

Changed:19.45. Recognises the essential role of multiannual plans (MAPs) as main frameworks for long-term regional fisheries management;management, based on the best available scientific, technical and economic advice, but regrets that they have not reached their full potential;

Change 11

Changed:20.46. Calls on the Commission to proposeassess increasedhow flexibilityeffectively the existing MAPs are being implemented in order to ensure that they contribute to the CFP objectives; where necessary, these plans should be updated and improved, so that they take into account socioeconomicsocio-economic considerations and changing conditions;

Change 12

Removed:21. Stresses the need to improve the implementation of the ecosystem approach at regional level and the need for consistent fisheries management measures concerning stocks straddling over regions covered by several MAPs;

Added:47. Calls on the Commission to explore, in coordination with other partners in the area - namely non-EU countries and relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) - whether MAPs, similar to those in place in other sea basins, could be proposed for the EU’s remaining waters, notably in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and how they can complement and work together with already existing management tools in these sea basins;

Added:48. Underlines the need to ensure synergies between regional multiannual plans and the specific maritime policies for each basin;

Added:49. Believes that it is imperative that all local and regional authorities competent for fisheries management, as well as the Advisory Councils (ACs), which have a fundamental role in this regard, are fully involved in the definition, development and implementation of MAPs in line with the CFP;

Added:50. Stresses that fisheries is the sector most dependent on healthy, productive and resilient stocks and marine ecosystems and that these ecosystems are affected also by the many other uses of, and activities taking place in the marine environment, such as maritime transport and tourism, urban and coastal development, the exploitation of raw materials and energy sources, including sea-floor mining, as well as being affected by marine pollution and climate change; consequently, stresses the need to improve the implementation of the ecosystem-based approach at regional, national and European level, to which MAPs and other management tools have a crucial role to play;

Added:51. Stresses the need for consistent fisheries management measures concerning stocks straddling over regions covered by several MAPs, as well as for regions not covered by MAPs;

Governance

Change 13

Removed:Organisation within the Commission

Added:52. Strongly recommends, given the strategic importance of fisheries and aquaculture as a source of healthy, protein-rich and high-quality food, that this policy be given the additional strategic recognition it deserves within the Commission and that the Commission services responsible be staffed with an adequate number of experts in fisheries and aquaculture;

Removed:22. Strongly recommends, given the strategic importance of fisheries as a source of healthy and high-quality food, that this policy be given the recognition it deserves within the Commission and that the Commission services responsible be staffed with an adequate number of experts in fisheries;

Added:53. Requests that, in future compositions of the College of Commissioners, there should be a Commissioner dedicated exclusively to fisheries, aquaculture and maritime affairs;

Added:54. Stresses the importance of the Commission’s including sufficiently detailed information it its annual reports as referred to in Article 50 of the CFP, so as to allow the implementation of the CFP by the Commission to be monitored and assessed effectively; calls in addition on the Commission, when reviewing the CFP, to amend Article 49 in order to set a deadline for a report to be submitted 10 years after the review and every five years thereafter to the European Parliament and to the Council;

Added:55. Calls on the Commission to better support the Member States in implementing and ensuring respect of and compliance with the objectives of the CFP; underlines that it is essential for the Commission and the Member States to be transparent in their management of fishery resources; stresses that transparent management is vital in ensuring a high level of trust among EU citizens and maintaining the good reputation of the EU fisheries sector;

Added:56. Proposes to the Commission and the Council that the European Parliament be given observer status, ensuring full political representation, at the annual negotiations on fishing opportunities;

Regionalisation and stakeholders’ involvement

Change 14

Removed:23. Encourages Member States to widely use the regional cooperation tool in accordance with Article 18 of the CFP Basic Regulation;

Added:57. Stresses the importance of strengthening regionalisation in the CFP, allowing regions and local authorities to be more involved in the drafting, development and evaluation of the national operational programmes for fisheries and in fisheries management more generally, while also making full use of the existing possibilities in the CFP;

Removed:24. Stresses the fundamental role of Advisory Councils (ACs) for stakeholder consultations;

Added:58. Highlights the importance of taking into account regional specificities, while applying a harmonised approach to fisheries management across the EU; encourages Member States to increase their cooperation within regional groups, together with the relevant stakeholders, ACs and local and regional authorities in accordance with Article 18 of the CFP Basic Regulation in order to design regional conservation measures through joint recommendations that are better tailored to the specific characteristics of each particular maritime basin;

Removed:25. Supports the current composition of the ACs, with a majority representation of socioeconomic operators as compared to other interest groups;

Added:59. Stresses the fundamental role of ACs in reinforcing stakeholders’ cooperation and in ensuring their adequate and fair participation in the EU decision-making process;

Removed:26. Highlights the importance of involving the ACs with the European Parliament’s work;

Added:60. Further emphasises that the ACs are essential to provide experience and knowledge to the European Commission and to the Member States, as well as to submitting recommendations on matters relating to the management of fisheries and the socio-economic and conservation aspects of fisheries and aquaculture and explain the problems of the sector and of other stakeholders, thus supporting and improving legislation;

Removed:27. Deplores the insufficient monitoring of and transparency on how the AC’s advice is taken into account in decision-making; calls on the Commission and Member States to systematically and actively participate in the AC’s meetings and to better communicate on the value of their advice;

Added:61. Underlines that ACs also play a key role in the context of regionalisation;

Removed:28. Considers that co-management with the ACs must be developed to foster a bottom-up approach;

Added:62. Calls on the Commission to ensure that regional stakeholders and ACs play a greater role in the negotiations and consultations with third countries, especially the United Kingdom and Norway; points out that the Commission is responsible for organising the negotiations with third countries in such a way as to allow for direct interactions and exchanges between stakeholders on both sides;

Added:63. Supports the composition of the ACs, with a majority representation of socio-economic operators as compared to other interest groups;

Added:64. Highlights the importance of stakeholders’ actively participating in ACs, in a good working atmosphere based on respect, inclusion of all opinions by the different stakeholder groups, impartial secretariats, rotating chairpersons and external, regular and independent performance reviews;

Added:65. Highlights the importance of involving the ACs with the European Parliament’s work, and thus recommends holding regular exchanges between representatives of the ACs and Parliament’s relevant Committees;

Added:66. Deplores the insufficient monitoring of and transparency on how the ACs’ advice is taken into account in decision-making; calls on the Commission to draw up a procedure to give ACs a better understanding of the results of their recommendations, such as considering an annual report, as well as including explanations in specific proposals from the Commission, such as in recitals of the relevant legislative acts, on how ACs’ recommendations have been taken into account;

Added:67. Calls on the Commission to systematically and actively participate in the ACs’ meetings and to better communicate on the value of their advice, as well as for Member States to provide appropriate support for the functioning of ACs;

Added:68. Considers that co-management is a participatory and co-responsibility model, based on a bottom up approach, which is transparent, proactive and democratic, and which helps to generate greater knowledge sharing for fisheries management, within a culture of responsibility, establishing a network of trust and contributing to reducing conflict and overcoming hurdles to implement innovations and necessary measures in fisheries management, as well as in the creation, implementation and management of Marine Protected Areas, where it has proven to be highly successful;

Added:69. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal announced in its Communication on the CFP today and tomorrow to conduct, between spring 2023 and summer 2024, an EU-wide participatory foresight project on ‘Fisheries of the Future’ based on interviews on the ground;

Decisions based on science and impact assessments