European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund: simplification and transposition of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

01020304050607

Commission proposal1st reading – European Parliament1st reading – Council of the EUTrilogues (interinstitutional negotiations)2nd readingConciliationAdoption

With the European Parliament, which is preparing its first-reading position.

Last active 21 Sept 2026

AI system. Responses may contain errors. Why this matters

Track this billGet an email when the proposal moves: phase change, new document, or terminal outcome.

What this bill does

In plain terms: what it changes and who it affects.

The proposal makes EMFAF support easier to use and bars funding for harmful fisheries activities banned under the WTO subsidies agreement.

Who it affects

It affects fishers, small-scale coastal fleets, young fishers, aquaculture operators, and Member States managing EMFAF programmes. It also affects vessels and operators involved in IUU fishing or fishing outside relevant international jurisdiction.

Core of the proposal

Raises flexibility for fleet measures, engine upgrades, and permanent cessation funding.
Allows support for safety gear, temporary cessation, eel-fishery derogations, and marine protected area strategies.
Adds support for young fisher ownership transfers, small-scale diversification, and energy-transition pilot projects.
Makes IUU fishing, high-seas non-RFMO activity, and other prohibited operations ineligible for EMFAF support.

Key provisions

Takes effect: It enters into force on the twentieth day after publication in the Official Journal.
Transitional law: WTO-Agreement provisions apply from the regulation’s entry into force amendment date and stop when the WTO agreement terminates; support then becomes inadmissible or ineligible.

Articles changed · 15 across 1 law

Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 (32021R1139)
- art. 2(2): adds points 16-23 with new definitions
- art. 5(5): replaces the 30% ceiling for allocations under Articles 17-20
- art. 11a: inserts inadmissibility rules for affirmative determinations
- art. 13: broadens ineligible operations, adds safety equipment exception
- art. 13a: adds ineligibility for support outside coastal state jurisdiction and RFMO/A competence
- art. 18: loosens engine-replacement conditions and replaces paragraph 5
- art. 19: shortens registration period and revises tonnage increase conditions
- art. 19a: adds support for energy transition projects and infrastructure
- art. 20(2)(c): replaces 90-day sea activity rule with eel-fisheries derogation
- art. 21(2): adds temporary cessation for major reductions in fishing opportunities
- art. 25: adds support for marine protected areas and fisheries-restricted areas
- art. 30a: adds support for small-scale fishing diversification
- art. 44a: adds financial corrections for affirmative determinations
- art. 66: replaces entry-into-force and application provisions
- art. Annex III: replaces row 1 aid-rate table entries

Documents

1 recent

SourcesOEILEUR-LexEU Law Tracker