The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is hereby established.
The EMFF shall contribute to the achievement of the following objectives:
promoting competitive, environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially responsible fisheries and aquaculture;
fostering the implementation of the CFP;
promoting a balanced and inclusive territorial development of fisheries and aquaculture areas;
fostering the development and implementation of the Union’s IMP in a manner complementary to cohesion policy and to the CFP.
The pursuit of those objectives shall not result in an increase in fishing capacity.
The EMFF shall contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy and to the implementation of CFP. It shall pursue the following Union priorities for the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture and related activities, which reflect the relevant thematic objectives referred to in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013:
Promoting environmentally sustainable, resource–efficient, innovative, competitive and knowledge–based fisheries by pursuing the following specific objectives:
the reduction of the impact of fisheries on the marine environment, including the avoidance and reduction, as far as possible, of unwanted catches;
the protection and restoration of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems;
the ensuring of a balance between fishing capacity and available fishing opportunities;
the enhancement of the competitiveness and viability of fisheries enterprises, including of small–scale coastal fleet, and the improvement of safety and working conditions;
the provision of support to strengthen technological development and innovation, including increasing energy efficiency, and knowledge transfer;
the development of professional training, new professional skills and lifelong learning.
Fostering environmentally sustainable, resource-efficient, innovative, competitive and knowledge-based aquaculture by pursuing the following specific objectives:
the provision of support to strengthen technological development, innovation and knowledge transfer;
the enhancement of the competitiveness and viability of aquaculture enterprises, including the improvement of safety and working conditions, in particular of SMEs;
the protection and restoration of aquatic biodiversity and the enhancement of ecosystems related to aquaculture and the promotion of resource-efficient aquaculture;
the promotion of aquaculture having a high level of environmental protection, and the promotion of animal health and welfare and of public health and safety;
the development of professional training, new professional skills and lifelong learning.
Fostering the implementation of the CFP by pursuing the following specific objectives:
the improvement and supply of scientific knowledge as well as the improvement of the collection and management of data;
the provision of support to monitoring, control and enforcement, thereby enhancing institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administration, without increasing the administrative burden.
Increasing employment and territorial cohesion by pursuing the following specific objective: the promotion of economic growth, social inclusion and job creation, and providing support to employability and labour mobility in coastal and inland communities which depend on fishing and aquaculture, including the diversification of activities within fisheries and into other sectors of maritime economy.
Fostering marketing and processing by pursuing the following specific objectives:
the improvement of market organisation for fishery and aquaculture products;
the encouragement of investment in the processing and marketing sectors.
Fostering the implementation of the IMP.
1.Measures covered by Title V shall be financed by the EMFF in accordance with the principle of shared management between the Union and Member States and the common rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
2.Measures covered by Title VI shall be financed by the EMFF in accordance with the principle of direct management.
1.Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, Articles 107, 108 and 109 TFEU shall apply to aid granted by Member States to undertakings in the fishery and aquaculture sector.
2.However, Articles 107, 108 and 109 TFEU shall not apply to payments made by Member States pursuant to, and in conformity with, this Regulation falling within the scope of Article 42 TFEU.
3.National provisions setting up public financing going beyond the provisions of this Regulation concerning payments referred to in paragraph 2, shall be treated as a whole on the basis of paragraph 1.
4.For the fishery and aquaculture products, listed in Annex I TFEU, to which Articles 107, 108 and 109 thereof apply, the Commission may authorise, in accordance with Article 108 TFEU, operating aid in the outermost regions referred to in Article 349 TFEU within the sectors producing, processing and marketing fishery and aquaculture products, with a view to alleviating the specific constraints in those regions as a result of their isolation, insularity and extreme remoteness.
The specific ex ante conditionalities referred to in Annex IV shall apply to the EMFF.
1.An application submitted by an operator for support from the EMFF shall be inadmissible for an identified period of time laid down pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article, if it has been determined by the competent authority that the operator concerned:
(a)has committed a serious infringement under Article 42 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008(1) or Article 90(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009;
(b)has been involved in the operation, management or ownership of fishing vessels included in the Union IUU vessel list as set out in Article 40(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, or of vessels flagged to countries identified as non-cooperating third countries as set out in Article 33 of that Regulation;
(c)has committed a serious infringement of the CFP rules identified as such in other legislation adopted by the European Parliament and by the Council; or
(d)has committed any of the offences set out in Articles 3 and 4 of Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(2), where the application is made for support under Chapter II of Title V of this Regulation.
2.The beneficiary, after submitting the application, shall continue to comply with the conditions referred to in points (a) to (d) of paragraph 1 throughout the period of implementation of the operation and for a period of five years after the final payment to that beneficiary.
3.An application submitted by an operator shall be inadmissible for an identified period of time laid down pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article, if it has been determined by the competent authority that that operator has committed a fraud, as defined in Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests(3), in the context of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) or the EMFF.
4.The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 126 concerning:
(a)the identification of the period of time referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article which shall be proportionate to the nature, gravity, duration and repetition of the serious infringement, offence or fraud, and shall be of at least one year’s duration;
(b)the relevant starting or ending dates of the period of time referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article.
5.Member States shall require that operators submitting an application under the EMFF provide to the managing authority a signed statement confirming that they respect the criteria listed in paragraph 1 of this Article and declaring that they have not committed a fraud under the EFF or the EMFF as referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article. Member States shall verify the veracity of that statement before approving the operation, based on the information available in the national register of infringements referred to in Article 93 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, or any other available data.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph, a Member State shall provide, on request from another Member State, the information contained in its national register of infringements referred to in Article 93 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
The following operations shall not be eligible under the EMFF:
operations increasing the fishing capacity of a vessel or equipment increasing the ability of a vessel to find fish;
the construction of new fishing vessels or the importation of fishing vessels;
the temporary or permanent cessation of fishing activities, unless otherwise provided for in this Regulation;
exploratory fishing;
the transfer of ownership of a business;
direct restocking, unless explicitly provided for as a conservation measure by a Union legal act or in the case of experimental restocking.
Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1936/2001 and (EC) No 601/2004 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1093/94 and (EC) No 1447/1999 (OJ L 286, 29.10.2008, p. 1).
Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the environment through criminal law (OJ L 328, 6.12.2008, p. 28).
Convention drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests (OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 49).