Aiming to reflect on the future of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs), a high-level conference organised by the EU Long Distance Fleet Advisory Council (LDAC) in partnership with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will take place on 8th April 2026 in Brussels.
This event brings together EU institutions, fisheries stakeholders, partner countries, and international organisations.
SFPAs are a key pillar of the external dimension of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, providing a legal and operational framework for EU fleets to access fishing resources in third countries, while supporting sustainable fisheries management and the socio-economic development of coastal communities.
At a time when the EU is evaluating its Common Fisheries Policy and preparing to develop its Strategy for a Fisheries External Action, this conference offers a timely opportunity to discuss how the next generation of SFPAs can adapt to evolving global challenges such as interactions between biodiversity and policy in international ocean governance, impacts of climate change, increasing competition for marine resources, or shifting of geopolitical dynamics.
Key topics to be discussed include the SFPAs as instrumental in strengthening international ocean governance and blue diplomacy, improving transparency and accountability of fishing activities in EEZ third country waters, enhancing social, economic, and environmental sustainability in partner countries and ensuring a level playing field between EU and non-EU fleets.
Alongside these considerations, SFPAs are seen as improving policy coherence between fisheries, development, trade, and environmental policies, as well as promoting value addition, traceability, and support to coastal communities, and addressing operational challenges across different fishing segments (i.e. demersal and deep-sea, tuna, and small pelagics),
The conference will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive debates aimed at generating targeted recommendations for the future EU strategy on fisheries external action.
On the folowing day (9th April), there will be a reading session of the preliminary conclusions of this event, together with the presentation of the recommendations adopted in LDAC’s advice released in October 2025 on the same topic. This event will take place at the European Parliament and will be hosted by the Chair of the EP Fisheries Committee, Ms. Carmen Crespo.
-The agenda and the concept note are available for consultation at the LDAC website
This high profile event will be live streamed online by the EESC web-TV
