The Omnibus Simplification Package aims to streamline existing EU sustainability regulations, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). By consolidating these frameworks, the proposal seeks to eliminate redundancies, lower compliance costs, and provide much-needed clarity, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This is part of the new Commission’s Competitiveness Compass, which aims to reduce the administrative burden on firms by at least 25% and on SMEs by at least 35%. The sector emphasizes that simplification should go beyond reporting obligations. Additional regulatory challenges—such as compliance costs, fishing ground closures, taxation and bureaucratic inefficiencies—continue to threaten the fishing sector’s economic viability. Since 2000, the EU fishing fleet has decreased by 28%, and full-time employment in the sector has dropped by 33%. Europêche urges a practical revision that balances environmental sustainability with food security, economic viability and reduced red tape. The Commission must also conduct a thorough review of all policies affecting fisheries, including the news ones such as the Control Regulation and the Nature Restoration Law, similar to the review of the Common Agricultural Policy adopted in 2023.

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche, stated: ‘We welcome this initiative as a first step, but the Commission must go deeper. A broader analysis of sectoral and environmental policies is essential to identify and eliminate unnecessary administrative burdens. Reducing red tape, where necessary, will improve competitiveness and ensure a more practical and sustainable regulatory framework for the European fishing industry.’

Europêche welcomes the ongoing screening exercise by DG MARE to identify and reduce red tape. However, the sector calls on the Commission to establish a structured consultation with fisheries stakeholders to pinpoint specific regulatory challenges and propose practical solutions. A comprehensive strategy is essential to ensure that fisheries legislation is proportionate, coherent, and effective, enabling the sector to thrive while supporting the EU’s sustainability objectives.

For more details, read Europêche’s position paper on reducing regulatory burdens in the EU fishing sector.

Press Contact: 

Anne-France Mattlet, Deputy Director of Europêche | Email: anne-france.mattlet@europeche.org | Phone: +33 678 11 63 01 

EP Press Release – Reduction Bureaucracy

As the EU aspires to strengthen food sovereignty, Europêche underscores that fisheries is a critical pillar of Europe’s food production system. EU fisheries contributes to healthy diets, economic stability in coastal communities and reduced dependence on imported proteins. In this context, Europêche calls for the meaningful inclusion of fisheries in the Vision for Agriculture and Food and the announced legislative proposals therein to ensure a truly comprehensive strategy for a stable, resilient and self-sufficient food supply.

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche, stated: ‘Fishers and farmers face the same challenges—securing food supply in an increasingly competitive and highly regulated environment. While we welcome the Commission’s commitment to fair incomes, reduced bureaucracy and generational renewal for farmers, it is crucial to recognize that fisheries are just as essential to Europe’s food security. Our fishers face similar struggles with rising operational costs, complex regulations and the urgent need to attract young generations into the profession. They deserve the same level of support and recognition as part of the food production chain.’

Europêche calls on the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food to expand its Vision to fully integrate fisheries. Simplification packages for farmers and food businesses should also extend to fisheries, ensuring a level playing field globally and reducing bureaucratic burdens. This effort must go beyond the Common Fisheries Policy review to encompass all relevant environmental and fisheries policies, such as the Nature Restoration Law and Control Regulation. Additionally, fisheries should be fully included in the Generational Renewal Strategy set for 2025, with dedicated financial incentives, innovation, and training—just as proposed for farmers—to attract and support the next generation of fishers.

Call for an EU Action Plan for Blue Foods

Beyond inclusion in the Commission’s Vision, Europêche is calling for the development of an EU Action Plan for Blue Foods by 2026 to boost the supply and consumption of sustainable seafood. This plan should:

✅ Promote nutritious, healthy, low-carbon blue foods through sustainable fisheries and ocean-friendly innovations.
✅ Be backed by dedicated EU funding to enhance seafood production and market access.
✅ Ensure the integration of blue foods into key EU ocean and food strategies, making it a central pillar of both the EU Oceans’ Pact and the Vision for the Future of Agriculture and Food.
✅ Support public awareness campaigns on the health, environmental, and socio-economic benefits of increasing seafood consumption.

Europêche also calls on Commissioner Hansen to include Europêche as a member of the ‘High-Level Group on Agriculture and Food’, noting that no fishing organization has been accepted to join this expert group. Mr Voces concluded: ‘The future of food in Europe depends on a holistic approach that integrates both land-based and marine food production. Fishers deserve the same recognition and support as farmers in shaping a sustainable and competitive food sector for future generations.’

Press Contact: 

Anne-France Mattlet, Deputy Director of Europêche | Email: anne-france.mattlet@europeche.org  | Phone: +33 678 11 63 01 

EP Press Release – Vision for Agriculture and Food

The EU Taxonomy aims to become a tool for companies and investors to help identifying those projects and economic activities that have a substantial positive impact on the climate and the environment. In 2020, the European Commission set up expert groups to produce criteria to categorise environmentally sustainable economic activities for each sector. However, the expert group for fisheries did not include any fishing industry stakeholder, only NGO representatives. As a result, the group produced unrealistic recommendations to the European Commission who is now working on a new bill.

Javier Garat, President of Europêche, declared: “This unbalanced situation has led to significant gaps in the platform’s knowledge and expertise about the fisheries realities. Likewise, this serious deficiency in the composition of the platform puts into question the legitimacy and validity of the work delivered by the expert group for fisheries”. Mr Garat continues: “We note with concern that the European Commission has ignored our call to re-open the expert group’ member list to industry representatives (i.e., fishing vessel owners, producer organisations, trade unions, specialised financial services, fish processing companies and retailers)[1]. Regrettably, the debates and discussions held within the Platform are not disclosed nor publicly available”.

The sector reiterates that the European Commission must consult relevant EU Advisory councils[2] specialised in fisheries, before submitting any “expert” outcome to the scrutiny of the public or as a recommendation to the European Commission.

Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, President of EAPO, commented: “European fishers are global leaders in sustainability, and we are more than interested in documenting and proving this fact. But the effect of this lack of expertise can be read throughout the sections in the report and annex concerning fishing with unworkable criteria and unachievable targets that go way beyond existing EU legislation, internationally agreed standards and the fishery reality. These include 100% observers on board, no-take zones, no discards and rejection by definition of bottom trawling as a sustainable activity. As a result, the vast majority of the EU fishing industry will not be able to reach alignment with the criteria, especially small-scale artisanal vessels”.

Europêche and EAPO unanimously concluded: “It is rather strange that the NGOs participating in the expert group (and the European Commission at this stage) are reluctant to reform the current CFP basic regulation[3] while, in the taxonomy, NGOs propose the introduction of completely new standards based on cherry-picking science. To the point that some of the studies referenced as scientific basis are, in reality, reports conducted by the very same NGOs participating in the expert group (e.g., Birdlife, Bycatch Mitigation FACT-SHEETS 2014). Isn’t it biased that a member of the platform is quoting its own study to underpin the recommended policy criteria? Isn’t this a conflict of interests? We can only conclude that the proposed criteria appear is a “wish list” of NGO claims that tried without success to insert them in other EU legislative acts (e.g., fisheries control regulation, multiannual management plans) and now, once again, within the framework of the taxonomy without any real debate”.

Lastly, Europêche and EAPO question the auditability of the proposed criteria. Particularly given the fact that the bodies providing scientific advice to the EU do not provide the level of detail for the information required under the screening criteria.

While appreciating the timely updates on the state of play of taxonomy by DG MARE, the industry fails to understand how and why the Directorate on financial affairs (DG FISMA) did not request any stakeholder representation from the fisheries value chain at any point.

[1] Europêche response to the European call for feedback by the Platform on Sustainable Finance on the draft report on preliminary recommendations for technical screening criteria for the EU taxonomy EP(21)33

[2] https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/fisheries/scientific-input/advisory-councils_en

[3] https://www.birdlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-02_CFP-joint-NGO-PR.pdf

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48 daniel.voces@europeche.org

Paul Thomas, Policy Officer of EAPO: +32 470 41 78 38 paul.thomas@eapo.com 

EP and EAPO Press Release – EU taxonomy for fisheries