Commission evaluates Common Organisation of the Markets in fisheries and aquaculture products

The report is the first part of the evaluation of the common organisation of the markets for these products. It is based on experience on the running of the COM as well as on extensive consultation with Member States and stakeholders. The report examines the practical application of the measures regarding marketing standards, consumer information, producers’ organisations, inter-branch organisations, prices and intervention and trade with third countries. The second part of the evaluation, which will be conducted through a number of external studies, will scrutinise in more detail the COM mechanisms and other related topics to assess their effectiveness and relevance.

The Common Organisation of the Market was reformed in 2000 to improve the balance between supply and demand, strengthen the competitiveness of the fisheries sector and improve information to consumers. The annual expenditure of the different intervention mechanisms varied between €9 million and €12 million between 2001 and 2004.

The Commission has now initiated a thorough evaluation of the COM, which will be carried out in two phases. The implementation report presented on 29 September is the first part. It is based on practical experience of the application of the COM as well as responses to questionnaires from 22 Member States and 3 stakeholder organisations.

The main conclusions of the implementation report are as follows:

The reform of the COM has borne fruit; the levels of intervention have been reduced, and the wasteful withdrawals (fish permanently taken off the market) have decreased in favour of carry-over operations (fish processed and/or stored to be reintroduced onto the market when the demand picks up). The report confirms the key role of producers’ organisations in efforts to regulate supply and demand of fish but highlights the low number of inter-branch organisations. It also indicates that market prices do not reflect changes in production costs, even for species that are in low supply due to conservation or recovery measures. Finally, the report confirms the growing dependence on imports from third countries to meet the needs of EU consumers and the fish processing industry.

The evaluation of the COM will stretch into 2007. The timeframe for this exercise is considered as necessary, due to the COM complex structure. In the light of the outcome of the complete evaluation process, the Commission will look at whether there should be a review of the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products.

The Common Organisation of the Markets in fishery and aquaculture products, established in 1970, was the first component of the Common Fisheries Policy. Its original aim was to provide market stability and guarantee a fair income for fish producers.