Revision of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund

ClientEarth argues that the European Commission's proposed revision of the EMFAF lacks a necessary Impact Assessment and fails to address the misalignment of public resources. The organization recommends the full transposition of WTO fisheries subsidy prohibitions into EU law, specifically by strengthening inadmissibility criteria for funding. It advocates for a strategic reallocation of funds toward small-scale, low-impact fisheries, which it describes as more economically resilient and employment-efficient than industrial fleets. Additionally, ClientEarth calls for a binding minimum of 25% of national envelopes to be dedicated to biodiversity restoration and the removal of fossil fuel tax exemptions for the fishing sector to support a genuine energy transition.

• ClientEarth criticizes the European Commission for bypassing a formal Impact Assessment for the EMFAF revision, arguing that such an assessment is legally required for revisions with significant environmental and social consequences.
• The document urges the EU to fully transpose the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) into the EMFAF Regulation, specifically incorporating prohibitions against subsidies for overfished stocks (Article 4) and unregulated high seas fishing (Article 5.1).

APA

ClientEarth (2026). Revision of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund. https://www.clientearth.org/media/15dfv541/new-draft-revision-of-the-european-maritime.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Revision of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund. 2026. https://www.clientearth.org/media/15dfv541/new-draft-revision-of-the-european-maritime.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Revision of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund |date=July 2026 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/15dfv541/new-draft-revision-of-the-european-maritime.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2026revision, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Revision of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2026}, month = jul, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/15dfv541/new-draft-revision-of-the-european-maritime.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }