The presentation of the Marine, Fisheries and Aquaculture Operational Programme 2021-2027 was held today, which is the programming document setting out the priorities and indicative interventions to be co-financed by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFF) for the period 2021-2027.
The EMFF 2021-2027 has a total budget of €54.7 million. The EU contribution (EMFF) will amount to 70% and the remaining 30% will be provided by the Republic of Cyprus as national contribution. The ENPI was adopted by the Council of Ministers in March 2022 and subsequently formally submitted to the European Commission on 30 March 2022.
The programme is implemented through the four Union Priorities and their respective Specific Objectives, as follows.
- - Priority 1. Promote sustainable fisheries and the restoration and conservation of aquatic biological resources.
- - Priority 2. Promote sustainable aquaculture activities and the processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture products, while contributing to the food security of the Union.
- - Priority 3. Encourage a sustainable blue economy in coastal, island and inland areas and promote the development of fishing and aquaculture communities.
- - Priority 4. Strengthen international ocean governance and ensure safe, secure, protected, clean and sustainably managed seas and oceans.
The implementation of the Programme is expected to achieve the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), with the main objective of ensuring that fishing and aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable and managed in such a way as to bring economic, social and labour benefits, as well as continued food availability. Also flagship supporting policies for the CFP are the "European Green Deal" and the "Farm to Plate Strategy". Both of these policies are directly linked to the CFP, since climate change and environmental degradation undermine all efforts made so far for the sustainable management of fisheries resources and pose a threat to the achievement of the good environmental/ecological status objective, which inevitably affects the food system.
The new Operational Programme will finance projects in the fisheries sector, with an emphasis on supporting small-scale coastal fisheries, aquaculture, aquaculture, fisheries and food production. Measures for the control of fishing activities, data collection have also been incorporated, while great importance is attached to measures relating to the marine environment. The implementation of the individual actions always takes into account the growing needs for restructuring/recovery of the economy and the creation of new and sustainable jobs, as well as our obligations to comply with the acquis communautaire. The implementation of the Programme is expected to benefit about 2500 persons, in addition to 700 enterprises, mainly micro enterprises, about 1000 jobs will be preserved, while another 35 new enterprises and 100 new jobs will be created.
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