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DRAFT BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT (COM(2025)0559 – C100171/2025 – 2025/0235(COD))

On the proposal for a regulation establishing the conditions for the implementation of the Union support to the Common Fisheries Policy, to the European Ocean Pact and of the Union’s maritime and aquaculture policy as part of the National and Regional Partnership Fund set out in Regulation (EU) […] [NRP Fund] for the period from 2028 to 2034

BUDG-PA-786808

Committee on Budgets · Rapporteur: Ruggero Razza

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The Committee on Budgets' draft opinion assesses the budgetary aspects of the proposed regulation on Union support to the Common Fisheries Policy, the European Ocean Pact and maritime and aquaculture policy under the National and Regional Partnership Fund for 2028 to 2034. It criticises the proposed fisheries envelope of EUR 2,00 billion as insufficient and insists it be raised to EUR 7,29 billion in current prices, with additional external financing of EUR 1,69 billion. It criticises spreading fisheries spending across several headings and calls for a detailed budgetary nomenclature, sufficient staff, harmonised anti-fraud requirements and robust control and audit frameworks.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgets finds the proposed fisheries envelope insufficient and insists it be raised from EUR 2 billion to EUR 7,29 billion, with EUR 1,69 billion in additional external financing. It calls for a detailed budgetary nomenclature, sufficient staff, harmonised anti-fraud requirements and robust control and audit frameworks.

Key points

  1. The Commission proposed to discontinue the dedicated Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and integrate its expenditure into the NRP fund, merging fisheries provisions with agricultural policy provisions.
  2. The ringfenced fisheries envelope in the proposed NRP Regulation is EUR 2,00 billion, compared with EUR 6,1 billion for the EMFAF under the current MFF 2021-2027.
  3. Financial and budgetary provisions for the Common Fisheries Policy are set in the NRP regulation, covering allocation, governance, types of intervention and rules for outermost regions.
  4. Eligible fisheries measures are spread across Heading 1 for NRP actions, Heading 2 for directly managed action through the European Competitiveness Fund and Heading 3 for regional fisheries management organisations and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements.
  5. Parliament's Interim Report regrets the budget reduction and calls for an increase to EUR 7,29 billion in current prices and EUR 1,69 billion in additional external financing.
  6. The committee reiterates that the amounts dedicated to the Common Fisheries Policy are not sufficient to attain its objectives and insists the programme envelope be increased from EUR 2 billion to EUR 7,29 billion.
  7. Sufficient human resources must be available from the outset and throughout the next MFF programming period, and staff and administrative appropriations must be realigned with modified operational allocations.
  8. The committee criticises the dispersion of fisheries spending over several headings as incoherent with the purpose of MFF headings under Article 312(3) of the Treaty.
  9. It calls for a sufficiently detailed budgetary nomenclature reflecting specific objectives and the breakdown of intervention types, deploring the indicative nomenclature that lumps CAP and fisheries into one budget line.
  10. Any change in architecture, objectives and eligible actions must be reflected in the monitoring provisions under Annex I of the proposed performance regulation.
  11. The committee calls for consistent and harmonised requirements for member states on preventing, detecting, reporting and correcting fraud from the start of implementation.
  12. It stresses that robust control and audit frameworks must be established to protect the Union's financial interests.

Who is affected

  • Member states, which would face harmonised anti-fraud requirements and national plans under the NRP fund.
  • The fisheries, maritime and aquaculture sector, which would receive support under the programme.
  • Outermost regions, for which specific rules apply under the NRP regulation.
  • Regional fisheries management organisations and third countries with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements, which receive external funding.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 2,00 billion — ringfenced financial envelope for fisheries interventions under the proposed NRP Regulation.
  • EUR 6,1 billion — envelope for the EMFAF under the current MFF 2021-2027.
  • EUR 7,29 billion in current prices, equivalent to EUR 6.50 billion in 2025 constant prices — requested increase of the programme envelope.
  • EUR 1,69 billion in current prices, equivalent to EUR 1,50 billion in 2025 constant prices — requested additional financing under external heading 3.
  • 2028 to 2034 — period covered by the proposed regulation.