A legislative amendment to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2014/20 (EMFF) to allow for additional crisis response measures to support the European Union's fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been proposed by the European Commission. This package complements the first set of crisis response measures. Measures adopted under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) on 25 March.

It includes financial compensation:

• for additional costs
• for revenue foregone and for the storage of products
• on the temporary cessation of fishing activities where they are currently unsafe

Using the remaining funds from 2014-20 to provide crisis support

Russia's military aggression against Ukraine has increased the prices of energy and raw materials. It caused high additional operating costs and a squeeze on profit margins in the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors. The war also led to a preventive cessation of fishing activities in some areas. Once the proposal is adopted, member states will be able to swiftly grant financial support for the additional costs and economic losses resulting from the crisis, namely:

• Financial compensation for the temporary cessation of fishing activities in cases where Russia's military aggression against Ukraine endangers the safety of fishing activities. This compensation shall not be subject to the financial ceiling and maximum duration fixed for other cases of temporary cessation.
• Financial compensation to producer organisations stocking fishery or aquaculture products in accordance with the storage mechanism of Regulation (EU) No [...] Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 (common market organisation).
• Financial compensation to operators in the fisheries and aquaculture sector (including the processing sector) for their income foregone and for the additional costs incurred due to market disruption caused by Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. As well as the impact on the supply chain for fishery and aquaculture products.

The proposal integrates these compensation schemes into existing EMFF measures to facilitate their swift implementation.

Flexibility mechanisms

The proposal also introduces flexibility mechanisms to facilitate the swift implementation of these new measures:

• Simplified procedure for amending member states' operational programmes for the introduction of these measures. This includes the reallocation of financial resources.
• Retroactive eligibility of expenditure for those measures from 24 February 2022.
• Possibility to reallocate lump sums originally earmarked for certain EMFF measures (i.e. control and enforcement, data collection) to the new crisis-related measures.

Please note that this is a legislative proposal. It will have to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council. A normal legislative procedure will be followed before it enters into force.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries

"The fisheries and aquaculture sectors are heavily affected by the war in Ukraine. Financial resources remain available under the EMFF. With this proposal we are allowing Member States to reallocate them to specific measures to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the crisis."