[PIO] Participation of the Director General of the General Directorate of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and

The Director General of the General Directorate of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mr. Kostas Hadjipanagiotou, accompanied by the Director of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research Ms Marina Argyrou, represented the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Dr Maria Panayiotou at the Informal Meeting of Fisheries Ministers of the European Union (EU), organized by the Belgian Presidency, in Bruges, Belgium, on 24-25 March.

The theme of the meeting was "the future of European fisheries and aquaculture". EU Fisheries Ministers noted their willingness to chart a course for the next political cycle after the European elections in June 2024. It was stressed that both sectors are of strategic importance for maintaining food security, but face many challenges which makes it necessary to consider concrete actions at European level.

The meeting was chaired by Mrs Hilde Crevits, Vice-President and Minister of Welfare, Public Health, Family and Fisheries of the Flemish Government of Belgium. The meeting was also attended by Mr Emiel Brouckaert, President of the Northwest Regional Water Advisory Council (NWWRAC), Mr Ebsen Sverdrup-Jensen, President of the European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO), and Mr Javier Ojeda, Secretary General of the European Federation of Aquaculture Producers (FEAP). Also in attendance were representatives of the EU institutions, Mr Pierre Karleskind, Chairman of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament and Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Mr Virginijus Sinkevicius.

Commissioner Sinkevicius said he was proud of the important work achieved in recent years. However, he noted that we are now at an important turning point, where decisions for the future must guarantee the support of fishermen and aquaculture farmers for the sustainability of the sector. He noted that he asked his services to carry out a full evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy to provide a solid basis for better informed decisions on the future of the sector.

In his intervention, Mr Hadjipanagiotou said that "the fisheries and aquaculture sectors face numerous challenges, such as overfishing, habitat destruction, the effects of climate change, market instability and administrative complexity. Recent crises have highlighted these challenges and the need to address them in order to have a resilient, attractive, sustainable and innovative fisheries and aquaculture sector. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach encompassing legal, economic and other aspects. He stressed that the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund should be significantly strengthened to become an essential and useful tool to promote the Common Fisheries Policy and the challenges facing the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector.

The preliminary results of the discussions of the Informal Council of Fisheries Ministers were:

1. There was a call for a strong common focus to make EU fisheries and aquaculture an attractive, profitable and resilient sector (through financial support, legislative measures and effective policy). [THERE IS A WIDE VARIETY OF FISHING FLEETS WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION WITH SPECIFIC AND COMMON CHALLENGES AND EXTERNAL PRESSURES THAT CONTINUE TO HAVE AN IMPACT THAT CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED. THE MULTIPLE USE OF MARINE SPACE IS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE, AND A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL APPROACH IS NOT IDEAL.
2. Ministers agreed on the many benefits of digitisation if it also provides full comparable data of high quality and reliability.
3. Ministers agreed that fisheries production is a strategic objective for the European Union and that the necessary steps should be taken to achieve this objective.
4. It was stressed that adequate financial support is vital to achieve the objective of energy transition and efficiency of all vessels. In this respect, some Member States are calling for a modification of the EU legal framework and State aid legislation for the energy modernisation of the fleet. [MINISTERS EXPRESSED THE NEED TO ADEQUATELY ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES SURROUNDING AQUACULTURE WITH RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.

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