On the evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up

B100386/2026

European Parliament resolution on the evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up

(2026/2778(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and in particular Articles 3, 4, 5, 11, 13, 38, 39, 43, 225 and 349 thereof,

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 30 April 2026 entitled ‘Evaluation – Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy’ (SWD(2026)0120),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC,

– having regard to the Commission statement delivered in plenary on 9 July 2026 entitled ‘Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up’,

– having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2024 on the state of play in the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and future perspectives,

– having regard to its resolution of 4 October 2022 on striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward,

– having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2023 on the small-scale fisheries situation in the EU and future perspectives,

– having regard to its resolution of 21 May 2026 on the multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and ways forward,

– having regard to its resolution of 7 June 2022 on the implementation of Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy Regulation,

– having regard to its resolution of 18 May 2021 on securing the objectives of the landing obligation under Article 15 of the Common Fisheries Policy,

– having regard to its resolution of 16 September 2021 on fishers for the future: attracting a new generation of workers to the fishing industry and generating employment in coastal communities,

– having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 entitled ‘More fish in the seas? Measures to promote stock recovery above the maximum sustainable yield (MSY), including fish recovery areas and marine protected areas’,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 June 2025 entitled ‘The European Ocean Pact’ (COM(2025)0281),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 29 January 2025 entitled ‘A Competitiveness Compass for the EU’ (COM(2025)0030),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 June 2026 entitled ‘Sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2027’ (COM(2026)0271),

– having regard to the letter of 16 February 2026 signed by 18 ministers requesting the Commission to present a simplification package for fisheries,

– having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2024 on the EU Action Plan: protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries,

– having regard to the advice published on 26 March 2026 by the Market Advisory Council entitled ‘Competitiveness of the EU Market of Fishery and Aquaculture Products – Simplification and reduction of administrative burden’,

– having regard to Report 2026/3 of the European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosystems, working with the European Environment Agency, entitled ‘Marine Messages III – State, pressures, and choices for the future of Europe’s seas’,

– having regard to the report by Costas Kadis, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, published in September 2025, entitled ‘2025 Annual Progress Report – Simplification, Implementation and Enforcement’,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 17 November 2025 for enhanced transparency and good governance in the allocation of fishing opportunities by Member States: A vade mecum on the application of Articles 16 and 17 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the fisheries and aquaculture sectors are essential for food security, employment and social cohesion in coastal communities, a fair standard of living for the fishing community and the sustainable supply of high-quality food in the EU;

B. whereas EU fishers, in particular small-scale fishers, aquaculture producers and related sectors, especially those on islands and in the outermost regions and coastal communities, face persistent and growing pressures, including degraded ecosystems and declining stocks, but also pressure from increasing operational costs, excessive regulatory burdens, ageing fleets and an ageing workforce, generational renewal challenges and increasing competition for maritime space and from products from non-EU countries with low or non-existing sustainability requirements;

C. whereas the economic, social, environmental and geopolitical context in which the common fisheries policy (CFP) operates has dramatically changed since the current framework was established in 2013, including as a result of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the resulting energy price volatility, and increasing environmental pressures from climate change; whereas these developments have affected the profitability and social sustainability of parts of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, in particular the small-scale operators, and the resilience of coastal and island communities;

D. whereas ad hoc measures adopted by the EU and the Member States to support the fisheries and aquaculture sectors and alleviate some of the challenges that have emerged since the adoption of the current CFP framework have been welcomed and have helped the sectors in difficult times; whereas during the same period, the underlying legislative framework has remained largely unchanged;

E. whereas the Commission’s evaluation of the CFP points to some progress, particularly in relation to environmental sustainability, while it recognises the failure to meet the CFP’s objectives and the progress needed in sustainability, stock recovery and the implementation of the ecosystem-based approach and it identifies persistent challenges related to the implementation, enforcement, profitability, competitiveness, socio-economic resilience, food security and the development of EU aquaculture;

F. whereas much-needed simplification should lead to clearer, more coherent and proportionate rules, foster a more competitive EU blue food sector, reduce the administrative burden and lead to more effective implementation and control, while maintaining high environmental, social and food-safety standards and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; whereas so far, the Commission has unfortunately refrained from proposing concrete initiatives in this field;

1. Welcomes the Commission’s evaluation of the CFP; regrets that it was not accompanied by a clear commitment to, or a timetable or measures for, follow-up actions, including concrete reforms to address the shortcomings identified in the evaluation; believes that the follow-up must address the operational problems faced by fishers and aquaculture producers while preserving the core objectives of the CFP;

2. Notes that the context in which the CFP is implemented has fundamentally changed since 2013 and, in the light of the evaluation, considers that this requires an ambitious, targeted and timely revision;

3. Reiterates the need for a more coherent, proportionate, science-based and results-oriented management approach for EU fisheries; expresses concerns related to the way scientific advice is currently translated into management decisions, and calls for greater transparency and consistency in this regard;

4. Regrets the practical difficulties encountered in the implementation of the landing obligation, particularly in mixed fisheries and in situations where choke species generate disproportionate socio-economic consequences; calls on the Commission to address these shortcomings by proposing alternative management tools and solutions, making full use of the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence, alongside greater flexibility, including improved quota-management tools, by-catch mitigation, quota pools, real-time closures, exchanges between Member States and producer organisations, and other appropriate measures, while maintaining the overall objectives of the landing obligation;

5. Underlines the need to facilitate and support the modernisation and renewal of the EU’s fishing fleet to improve safety and working conditions on board, increase energy efficiency and achieve decarbonisation; calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to swiftly address this need and to revise the fishing-capacity framework in order to adequately accommodate investments serving those objectives, including as regards social and safety-related tonnage, without increasing the catching capacity of vessels or contributing to overcapacity; stresses that such a revision is essential to enable the modernisation, renewal and decarbonisation of the EU’s fishing fleet while maintaining competitiveness and providing attractive and safe employment for future generations of fishers;

6. Underlines the need to incentivise, through proportionate and timely procedures and on the basis of robust scientific evidence, investment in and the deployment of fishing technologies and practices that reduce unwanted catches, improve selectivity and increase energy efficiency;

7. Calls for the application of maximum sustainable yield provisions to take due account of the specific characteristics of different fisheries, in particular mixed fisheries; calls on the Commission, when proposing fishing opportunities, and on the Council, when setting total allowable catches and quotas, to duly take into account socio-economic considerations alongside the best available scientific advice and in accordance with the objectives of the CFP;

8. Recognises, in line with the principle of regionalisation, that the different sea basins of the EU face different biological, environmental and socio-economic circumstances and should therefore be treated separately; calls on the Commission, given the need for further regionalisation and in the context of the follow-up to the CFP evaluation, to assess the multiannual plans (MAPs) and their implementation and to propose targeted improvements aimed at greater clarity, flexibility, coherence and practical effectiveness, while ensuring environmental, economic and social sustainability;

9. Welcomes the public consultation launched by the Commission on the MAP for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea and calls for legislative improvements to be pursued as a matter of urgency; stresses that, after years of successive reductions in fishing days, the current management framework has taken a heavy socio-economic toll on the fishing fleet concerned and on coastal communities, and that this needs to be addressed;

10. Underlines the conclusions of its 2026 resolution on the Baltic Sea MAP and the need for better-coordinated action; highlights the importance of science-based and proportionate measures to support stock recovery, improve scientific advice, implement relevant environmental legislation and strengthen ecosystem resilience, while safeguarding the socio-economic stability of coastal communities and the future of the regional fishing sector;

11. Stresses that conservation and spatial management measures should be based on the best available scientific advice, proportionate and regularly assessed, while duly considering socio-economic impacts, traditional and historic fishing grounds and areas that are essential for fisheries and aquaculture; calls for maritime spatial planning and the forthcoming Ocean Act to recognise the strategic contribution of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture to food security, employment and coastal communities and to ensure dedicated areas for fishing and aquaculture activities, and a balanced and participatory approach to competing uses of maritime space, while ensuring the achievement of conservation objectives and the protection of marine ecosystems;

12. Notes the concerns raised by parts of the fisheries sector regarding the practical effects of the restrictions applicable in vulnerable marine ecosystem areas under the Deep-Sea Access Regulation; urges the Commission to consider updated scientific evidence and available information on socio-economic effects, including on the specific characteristics and impact profiles of different bottom gears, such as bottom set longlines, and to propose the relevant revision to address those issues;

13. Calls on the Commission to review and simplify the implementation of the Fisheries Control Regulation, including reporting obligations, digital traceability requirements, catch registration procedures, weighing rules and electronic monitoring systems, ensuring that control measures remain proportionate, operationally feasible and adapted to the realities of fishing activities; calls on the Commission to address practical and technical implementation issues relating to the CATCH digital certificate, through appropriate clarification, harmonisation and technical adjustments;

14. Calls for a fair and competitive EU market for fisheries and aquaculture products; supports greater transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain, clearer consumer information and improved labelling for all types of seafood products, including the mandatory indication of origin; calls for a level playing field between EU and non-EU producers and between EU and imported products; considers, therefore, that a targeted revision of the Common Market Organisation Regulation is necessary to strengthen these objectives and ensure that imported products are subject to standards and requirements that are equivalent to those applicable to EU products; stresses the importance of robust implementation and enforcement of the EU’s zero-tolerance approach to IUU fishing;

15. Calls for the continued simplification of access to EU funding for fisheries and aquaculture, in particular under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, which should remain a specific and adequately funded instrument for the CFP, including by reducing administrative requirements and procedures, improving access for small operators and providing targeted financial, technical and administrative support, while maintaining safeguards and supporting investments contributing to safety, improved working conditions, energy efficiency, decarbonisation, selectivity and sustainable development;

16. Stresses the need to support the sustainable growth, development and competitiveness of the EU’s aquaculture, including low-trophic aquaculture, and to reduce administrative complexity, improve the coordination, speed and predictability of permitting and licensing procedures, strengthen legal certainty for sustainable aquaculture projects and support small and medium-sized producers, while ensuring environmental, economic and social sustainability;

17. Recognises that fisheries and aquaculture operators are subject to requirements stemming from different EU and national policy areas; calls for greater coherence and consistency in their development and implementation in order to avoid duplication and cumulative administrative burdens, while fully respecting the objectives of the legislation concerned; underlines the particular importance of proportionate and flexible rules for artisanal and small-scale fisheries, aquaculture producers and small and medium-sized enterprises, taking account of their limited administrative capacity and the need to ensure the attractiveness and competitiveness of the sectors and to support generational renewal;

18. Welcomes the announcement by the Commission of a fisheries and aquaculture simplification package and calls for it to be presented before the end of 2026; considers that the package should streamline existing EU legislation, reduce administrative burdens, improve legal clarity and certainty, strengthen competitiveness and resilience and facilitate the practical implementation of EU rules, while maintaining the objectives of sustainable fisheries management;

19. Calls on the Commission to follow up on the evaluation with a clear roadmap setting out the planned necessary measures and legal acts, including secondary legislation, to address the above-mentioned concerns, the procedural timeline and the expected reduction in administrative burdens, while ensuring consistency with the objectives of the CFP;

20. Calls on the Commission to put forward targeted legislative proposals in sufficient time to allow Parliament and the Council to adopt meaningful improvements within the current parliamentary term; calls, moreover, on the Commission to update, where appropriate, relevant secondary legislation, including delegated and implementing acts, where the shortcomings identified concern such provisions;

21. Declares its readiness to work swiftly and constructively with the Commission and the Council, and in close dialogue with all relevant stakeholders, to deliver meaningful improvements within the current parliamentary term;

22. States that, should the Commission fail to present concrete legislative proposals by the end of 2026, Parliament reserves the right to launch a legislative own-initiative report under Article 225 TFEU requesting the Commission to submit appropriate legislative proposals in relation to the above-mentioned concerns;

23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.