New crisis measures to support the fishery and aquaculture sectors in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been introduced by the European Commission.
Recognising that the conflict has raised the prices of energy and raw materials, generated very high additional operating costs and squeezed profit margins in the fishery, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors, the Commission said the crisis mechanism of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) will bring immediate relief through financial compensation for economic losses and additional costs.
Member states will be able to grant financial compensation to operators for income foregone due to the current market disruption, as well as “storage aid” to producer organisations.
This step comes in addition to the Temporary Crisis Framework, which enables member states to provide support through state aid.
“The war in Ukraine is a war against all of us. Our fisheries, aquaculture and processing sectors are hit hard due to high energy, oxygen and raw material prices. This is the second time in the past years after the COVID-19 pandemic, so we are again taking quick action to support them in this turmoil,” EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said.
“These emergency crisis measures should not in any way impede our long-term efforts towards structural energy transition of the fishery and aquaculture sectors to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal,” Sinkevičius added.
The new mechanism allows member states to grant two types of crisis measures:
- Financial compensation to operators of the fishery, aquaculture and processing sectors for their income foregone and additional costs stemming from the current market disruption. Additional energy costs can be covered by the compensation if they are linked to the market disruption caused by the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine.
- Financial compensation to producer organisations if they implement the storage mechanism of the common organisation of the markets (storage aid). That mechanism allows producer organisations to store the products of their members as a way to secure a satisfactory level of price on the market.
The Commission advises that the EMFAF crisis mechanism is a temporary measure and applies retroactively as of 24 February 2022, the date of the start of the aggression of Russia against Ukraine, and will last until the end of 2022.
