Sittings · Document

Adopted text 2026-09-17

Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 18 Sept 2026

Parliament's resolution responds to the Commission's 2026 evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy. It welcomes the evaluation but regrets the lack of a follow-up timetable, and calls for an ambitious, targeted revision of the policy. It asks for changes to the landing obligation, fleet modernisation, maximum sustainable yield rules, regionalisation and multiannual plans, including for the western Mediterranean and Baltic Sea. It seeks simplification of the Fisheries Control Regulation, a fairer market with clearer labelling and origin rules, continued access to EU funding, and support for aquaculture. It calls for a fisheries and aquaculture simplification package before the end of 2026 and a clear roadmap, and says Parliament may launch a legislative own-initiative report under Article 225 TFEU if no proposals come by then.

Key points

  1. Welcomes the Commission's evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy but regrets the absence of a clear commitment, timetable or measures for follow-up reforms.
  2. Considers that the changed context since 2013 requires an ambitious, targeted and timely revision of the policy.
  3. Calls for a more coherent, proportionate, science-based and results-oriented management approach, with greater transparency in how scientific advice becomes management decisions.
  4. Regrets practical difficulties with the landing obligation, especially in mixed fisheries and with choke species, and asks the Commission for alternative management tools, artificial intelligence, quota pools, real-time closures and exchanges between member states and producer organisations.
  5. Underlines the need to modernise and renew the fishing fleet for safety, working conditions, energy efficiency and decarbonisation, and asks the Commission and member states to revise the fishing-capacity framework without increasing catching capacity.
  6. Calls for incentives for fishing technologies and practices that reduce unwanted catches, improve selectivity and increase energy efficiency.
  7. Asks that maximum sustainable yield provisions account for the characteristics of different fisheries, and that the Commission and Council weigh socio-economic considerations alongside scientific advice when setting fishing opportunities.
  8. Calls for further regionalisation and for the Commission to assess the multiannual plans and propose targeted improvements, and welcomes the public consultation on the western Mediterranean plan while noting its socio-economic toll.
  9. Stresses that conservation and spatial management measures should be science-based, proportionate and regularly assessed, and that maritime spatial planning and the forthcoming Ocean Act should ensure dedicated areas for fishing and aquaculture.
  10. Urges the Commission to consider updated scientific evidence on the Deep-Sea Access Regulation and propose a revision, and to simplify the Fisheries Control Regulation, including reporting, traceability, weighing and electronic monitoring, and address CATCH certificate issues.
  11. Calls for a fair and competitive market with transparency, traceability, clearer labelling including mandatory origin indication, a level playing field with non-EU producers, a targeted revision of the Common Market Organisation Regulation and enforcement of the zero-tolerance approach to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
  12. Calls for simplified access to EU funding, especially the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, support for aquaculture and small producers, and a simplification package before the end of 2026, with a roadmap and legislative proposals in time for this parliamentary term.

Who is affected

  • EU fishers, especially small-scale and island or outermost-region operators, face pressures the resolution seeks to address.
  • Aquaculture producers would benefit from simpler permitting and support for sustainable growth.
  • Coastal and island communities depend on the sectors for employment and social cohesion.
  • The Commission is asked to present a simplification package, a roadmap and legislative proposals.
  • The Council is asked to weigh socio-economic considerations when setting total allowable catches and quotas.

Figures and deadlines

  • The Commission's evaluation staff working document is dated 30 April 2026.
  • The Common Fisheries Policy Regulation is Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of 11 December 2013.
  • The Commission statement in plenary was delivered on 9 July 2026.
  • A letter of 16 February 2026 signed by 18 ministers requested a simplification package for fisheries.
  • The Commission communication 'Sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2027' is dated 5 June 2026.
  • The Commission communication 'The European Ocean Pact' is dated 5 June 2025.
  • The Commission communication 'A Competitiveness Compass for the EU' is dated 29 January 2025.
  • The Commission communication on transparency in allocation of fishing opportunities is dated 17 November 2025.

Legal basis: Articles 3, 4, 5, 11, 13, 38, 39, 43, 225 and 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

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