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opinion parliamentary committee draft, 15 December 2025

On the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol on the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands (2025-2032)

Document BUDG-PA-781450 · (COM(2025)0511 – C100346/2025 – 2025/0287(NLE))

Committee on Budgets · Rapporteur: Olivier Chastel

On Parliament’s site PDF Word

AI:In short

The Committee on Budgets assesses the proposal for a Council decision on the EU-Cook Islands fisheries protocol (2025-2032). It notes the financial contribution and support objectives, and recommends approval. It calls for impact assessments for future agreements, regrets the disconnect between budgetary and consent decisions, and notes difficulties in scrutinising budget lines.

Position. The Committee on Budgets advises the Committee on Fisheries to recommend approval of the proposal for the Council decision on the protocol.

Key points

  1. The previous three-year Protocol with the Cook Islands expired on 16 December 2024.
  2. The financial contribution for the seven-year Protocol is EUR 3 220 000, including EUR 165 000 per year for access and EUR 295 000 per year for sectoral support.
  3. The support should enable Union vessels to fish, promote sustainable fisheries, and contribute to decent working conditions; thorough scrutiny is needed.
  4. Recommends that future agreements consider an impact assessment of added value and socio-economic benefits to guide negotiations.
  5. Regrets that the budgetary decision is disconnected from and taken before the consent decision, risking a fait accompli; requests the Commission to avoid this in future.
  6. Notes that budget lines for fisheries agreements are cumulative and not broken down, making scrutiny difficult.
  7. Concludes that the Committee on Budgets advises the Committee on Fisheries to recommend approval of the proposal.

Who is affected

  • The European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands, as parties to the fisheries agreement.
  • Union vessels fishing in the Cook Islands' fishing zone.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 3 220 000 total financial contribution for the seven-year Protocol.
  • EUR 165 000 per year for access to fishery resources, EUR 1 155 000 for the duration.
  • EUR 295 000 per year for sectoral support, EUR 2 065 000 for the duration.
  • EUR 1 161 000 in commitment appropriations and EUR 866 000 in payment appropriations transferred in DEC 19/2025.
  • 2025 budget includes EUR 90 590 000 in CA and EUR 93 655 000 in PA on line 08 05 01, and EUR 59 970 000 in CA and EUR 41 620 000 in PA on reserve line 30 02 02.

Written by AI from the full text · every figure comes from the text · ¶ opens the paragraph · 4 Sept 2026 · Report a problem

Full text

Budgetary assessment 18 paragraphs

for the Committee on Budgets on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol on the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands (2025-2032)

(COM(2025)0511 – C100346/2025 – 2025/0287(NLE))

The Committee on Budgets has carried out a budgetary assessment of the proposal under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure and has reached the following conclusions:

The Committee on Budgets,

A.whereas the previous three-year Protocol with the Government of the Cook Islands expired on 16 December 2024;

B.whereas the financial contribution to the new Protocol for the duration of its seven-year period is EUR 3 220 000, based on:

(a)an annual amount of EUR 165 000 for access to fishery resources as provided for in the Protocol, set at EUR 1 155 000 for the duration of the Protocol;

(b)support for development of the Cook Islands’ sectoral fisheries policy amounting to EUR 295 000 per year, set at EUR 2 065 000 for the duration of the Protocol, meeting the objectives of the Cook Islands’ strategic plan for fisheries;

C.whereas the implementation of the Protocol requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below:

DG MAREYear 2025Year 2026Year 2027Year 2028Year 2029Year 2030Year 2031Year 2032TOTAL
Operational appropriations
Budget line 08 05 01Commitments0.4600.4600.4600.4600.4600.4600.4603.220
Payments0.1650.4600.4600.4600.4600.4600.4600.2953.220

EUR million (to three decimal places);

D.whereas on 20 November 2025, Parliament approved DEC 19/2025 submitted by the Commission on 23 October 2025, which will make available the necessary appropriations on operational line 08 05 01 to honour the 2025 financial obligations resulting from the new Protocol;

Read the rest (6 paragraphs)

E.whereas the new Protocol with the Cook Islands has been signed and entered into provisional application on 9 December 2025;

1.Notes that the support allocated to the Protocol should meet the objectives of enabling Union vessels to fish in the Cook Islands’ fishing zone, enabling the Union and the Cook Islands to work closely together to further promote the development of a sustainable fisheries policy and the responsible exploitation of fishery resources in the Cook Islands’ fishing zone, and ensuring that the Union and the Cook Islands cooperate to contribute to decent working conditions in the fisheries sector; considers that there should be thorough scrutiny to ensure that the support meets those objectives effectively during the implementatison of the Protocol;

2.Recommends that, for future agreements, an impact assessment of the added value and socio-economic benefits derived from the previous agreement be taken into account; considers that this assessment should guide the negotiation and renewal of subsequent agreements to ensure that they align with the objectives of sustainable development and efficient use of the Union’s financial resources;

3.Notes that the transfer of appropriations for an amount of EUR 1 161 000 in commitment appropriations (CA) and of EUR 866 000 in payment appropriations (PA), as submitted by the Commission in DEC 19/2025, has been approved by the budgetary authority in the time limit provided for in the Financial Regulation; regrets that the decision on this budgetary matter is disconnected from, and has to be taken prior to, the decision on the consent to be given by Parliament to the new Protocol; underlines that decisions on the agreement itself and related budgetary matters are inextricably linked, and fears, therefore, that the disconnect risks de facto pre-empting the decision on consent and creating a fait accompli; therefore strongly requests the Commission to ensure that such situation does not occur again in the future;

4.Notes that the 2025 budget as voted on in plenary on 27 November 2024 includes amounts of EUR 90 590 000 in commitment appropriations (CA) and EUR 93 655 000 in payment appropriations (PA) on operational line 08 05 01, as well as amounts of EUR 59 970 000 in CA and EUR 41 620 000 in PA on reserve line 30 02 02; regrets that the amounts are cumulative and not broken down by fisheries agreements, thus making it difficult for Parliament to scrutinise budget implementation in this field;

5.Concludes that the Committee on Budgets is in a position to advise the Committee on Fisheries, as the committee responsible, to recommend approval of the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Protocol on the implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Government of the Cook Islands (2025-2032).