The Agriculture and Fisheries Council of EU Ministers met on 25 September in Brussels, on fisheries issues.
Under the presidency of Mr Sofoklis Aletraris, Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Ministers held a public debate on the Commission’s proposal on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2014-2002.
The new Fund will help deliver the ambitious objectives of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and will help fishermen in the transition towards sustainable fishing, as well as coastal communities in the diversification of their economies.
The fund will finance projects that create new jobs and improve quality of life along European coasts.
Red tape will be cut so that beneficiaries have easy access to financing. This fund will replace the existing European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and a number of other instruments.
The proposed envelope amounts to € 6.5 billion for the period 2014 to 2020. The Cypriot Presidency plans an orientation debate based on a number of questions in order to seek Ministers’ position in view of a partial general approach at October’s Council.
European Commission
FiskerForum.com
