EU Allocates EUR 1 Billion Fisheries Aid For Spainff

The European Commission has today adopted a decision fixing an annual indicative allocation, per Member State, of the funds made available under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013. From the beginning of next year, the EFF will replace the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) as the EU's core instrument for financial support to the fisheries sector and fishing communities. It will run for seven years with a budget of €3.849 billion.

Part of this budget (around €272 million) has been set aside for Bulgaria and Romania when they accede to the European Union, on 1 January 2007. Funds are also allocated specifically for the technical assistance provided by the Commission for the implementation of the EFF (around €30 million). In line with the provisions of the Regulation creating the EFF, adopted by Council on 27 July 2006 (see IP/06/793), the Commission has made an annual indicative breakdown by Member State for the remainder of the budget, i.e. around €3.545 billion, identifying each time the amount available for the 'convergence regions'.

One of the guiding principles of the EFF is to focus EU funding on the less developed areas of the Union, known as the 'convergence regions'. In line with this principle, around € 2.6 billion have been allocated under the EFF to the convergence regions on an indicative basis. The table below sets out the allocation of funds between the Member States, with the breakdown between convergence and non-convergence regions, for the next seven years.

The total budget allocated for the FIFG for the 2000-2006 period was €3.7 billion for the 15 Member States. An additional €272 million were earmarked for the 10 new Member States for the period 1 May 2004 to 31 December 2006. Funding for the EFF is provided under the new EU financial perspectives covering the period 2007-2013.

Table in annex: Allocation of EFF aid from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013

Allocation of EFF aid from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013

* Amounts in EUR, 2004 prices