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Euractiv
2 hours ago
- Business
- Euractiv
Commission's EU budget plan delivers major blow to fisheries
The European Commission has slashed fisheries funding by two-thirds in its proposal for the next long-term EU budget, triggering sharp criticism from lawmakers and the industry. In its proposal for a long-term EU budget for the 2028-2034 period, the EU executive merged the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) into a single mega-fund that also covers cohesion and rural development funds, and which is to be managed by national governments. Beyond the structural overhaul, the fisheries budget has shrunk from around €6 billion to €2 billion. 'The budget cut is as unjustified as it is alarming,' said Spanish MEP Carmen Crespo Díaz of the centre-right European Peoples' Party (EPP) and chair of the Parliament's Fisheries (PECH) committee. This comes 'after years of quota reductions, increasing limitations on fishing days, and a lack of real support for fishing effort,' she added. Crespo also criticised the loss of EMFAF's standalone status. 'Without a specific fund, there is no specific policy,' she warned. Industry representatives echoed the concern. 'We are witnessing a weakening of support for a sector already under severe strain and in steady decline,' said Europêche, the EU's main fishing lobby. EU fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis, however, dismissed the criticism. 'Fisheries and ocean related policies are very well reflected in all three major building blocks of the new EU budget,' he said on social media. Kadis added that member states can choose to allocate more funds to fisheries through their National and Regional Plans (NRPs), and that the €2 billion is a minimum ringfenced amount within the larger fund. He also pointed to additional funding options, including the European Competitiveness Fund, which supports investments in 'sustainable blue economy', and the Global Europe tool, aimed at 'ocean diplomacy' and combatting illegal fishing. (adm, de)
Euractiv
2 days ago
- Business
- Euractiv
Commission toys with massive €522 billion competitiveness budget
The European Commission is considering a huge new fund to boost Europe's economy worth up to €522 billion between 2028 and 2034, according to a document seen by Euractiv. On Wednesday the Commission is expected to present its proposal for the next seven-year budget cycle. The €522 billion would be split between a research programme, currently at €96 billion, and various smaller programmes not likely surpassing €50 billion. That leaves room for a possible European Competitiveness Fund of over €300 billion, unheard of in the EU. The document – which may change in last-minute negotiations overnight – suggests that the total size of the budget will be €1.717 trillion, or 1.23% of gross national income, the total income earned by a country's population and businesses. That is €369 billion more than a comparable number for the previous budget, but around €200 billion would likely go to paying back the EU's pandemic recovery fund loans. The Commission typically proposes a higher figure, which is then whittled down by spendthrift EU countries in years of painstaking negotiations. During the last cycle of negotiations that began in 2018, the Commission proposed 1.11% GNI and the final agreement landed at 1.05% of GNI in comparable terms. According to the leaked document, the budget proposal would pull all the EU's expenditure into just four pots. Most of the traditional spending would be subsumed into a fund called "Europe's social model and quality of life," worth €947 billion over seven years. The Global Europe fund, which controversially may also include development aid, would be worth €190 billion, and a budget for administration would be €107 billion. Nikolaus J. Kurmayer contributed reporting.
