Maritime University of Szczecin
Akademia Morska w Szczecinie
2010, 23(95) pp. 45–49 2010, 23(95) s. 45–49
EU measures protecting marine environment through
the European Fisheries Fund under operational programmes
(Poland’s perspective)
Działania Unii Europejskiej na rzecz ekologicznej ochrony
środowiska morskiego realizowane za pośrednictwem
Europejskiego Funduszu Rybackiego w programach
operacyjnych (odniesienie do Polski)
Marianna Greta, Teresa Kostrzewa-Zielińska, Jacek Otto
Technical University of Łódź, Faculty of Organisation and Management Department of European Integration and International Marketing Politechnika Łódzka, Wydział Organizacji i Zarządzania, Katedra Integracji Europejskiej i Marketingu Międzynarodowego 90-924 Łódź, ul. Wólczańska 215, e-mail: kieimm@p.lodz.plKey words: EU aid funds, maritime and fisheries policy, environmental protection, EU ecological measures for the marine environment
Abstract
The objective of the article is to identify support areas under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) with a particular focus on ecological measures protecting the marine environment. The introduction provides general information about the EFF and EU measures for fisheries and maritime policy. The first part of the paper discusses the support areas of the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance established in 1992, with a focus on its ecological activity. The second part of the paper concerns the activity of the European Fisheries Fund within the financial strategy for the period 2007–2013 with reference to the priority axes implemented under the sectoral operational programme in Poland. Such an approach is quite logical, as these priorities and measures are compatible across EU member countries. The general conclusion from the analysis is as follows: structural orientation of measures and enhancement of support for a balanced water environment, protection of flora and fauna, reasonable exploitation of resources, and ecology as the top priority.
Słowa kluczowe: fundusze pomocowe UE, polityka morska i rybołówstwa, ochrona środowiska naturalne-go, unijne działania ekologiczne w środowisku morskim
Abstrakt
Celem artykułu było określenie obszarów wsparciowych Europejskiego Funduszu Rybackiego (EFR) ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem działań ekologicznych na rzecz ochrony środowiska morskiego. Wprowa-dzenie dotyczy ogólnych informacji o EFR i zwrócenia uwagi na działania Unii Europejskiej (UE) w zakresie rybołówstwa i polityki morskiej. W pierwszej części dokonano opisu obszarów wsparciowych powołanego w 1992 roku Europejskiego Instrumentu Wspierania Rybołówstwa z uwzględnieniem jego ekologicznej aktywności. Druga część dotyczy aktywności Europejskiego Funduszu Rybackiego w strategii finansowej 2007–2013 i tu nastąpiło odniesienie informacji do osi priorytetowych realizowanych w sektorowym progra-mie operacyjnym w Polsce. Takie podejście jest uzasadnione, gdyż priorytety i działania są kompatybilne w państwach członkowskich UE. Generalnym wnioskiem analizy jest priorytetowe potraktowanie ekologii, ukierunkowanie działań na strukturalne oraz wzmocnienie aktywności wsparciowej na równowagę w środo-wisku wodnym, ochrona flory i fauny oraz rozumne korzystanie z zasobów.
Introduction
EU ecological measures protecting the marine environment cover a wide range of activities. Partially, the authors have already discussed these activities in other papers. They are both institutio-nal and functioinstitutio-nal activities which aim to protect the marine environment as part of the natural envi-ronment, which is the prerequisite for sustainable economic development and thus the EU’s top priority.
The objective of the paper is to discuss the European Fisheries Fund as a structural fund whose support areas concern ecological marine measures. This is one of the five structural funds earmarked for the marine environment. Hence, it is worth to study its activities and position in this respect. However, to demonstrate the measures protecting the marine environment, the authors find it neces-sary to thoroughly discuss the European Fisheries Fund.
The other structural funds designated for the elimination of regional disparities also continue to be allocated to coastal areas where the local populations depend on fishing for their livelihood. Structural measures included in the financial strategy approved for the years 2007–2013 have been organised in such a way that the European Fisheries Fund (formerly the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance in the years 1992–2006) is focused on sectoral policy, i.e. maritime and fisheries policy. This evolution demonstrates that the EU pays great attention to its maritime policy, which is overseen by the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, headed by the Greek Commissioner Maria Damanaki, who took it over from the Maltese Commissioner Joe Borg. The very change of name of the Directorate General, small but telling, from DG for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs to DG for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries demonstrates the evolution of the maritime policy from one focused on fisheries towards a more general perspective. While formerly fisheries considered the top priority, now it is the maritime policy. Such enumeration of values also concerns the growing significance of ecology in maritime policy, which is presented in a discussion of the operational programmes implemented in Poland. Consequently, the priority axes of these programmes may “indicate” the areas being the subject of EU interventions in the member countries.
The origins of structural assistance for fisheries and maritime economy
The development of the integration processes within the European Communities enhanced the transformation and adjustment of the member coun-tries, which was reflected in the economic and monetary union. The community policies of the first pillar (economic and monetary union) include maritime policy and fisheries and the Treaty of Maastricht established a financial instrument for these measures. Established in 1992, the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance provided for a large variety of measures in this sector, including those related to marine environment protection. The priorities and measures of this instrument are given in the table below.
Table 1. Priorities and measures under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance, established by the Treaty of Maastricht (own work based on [1, 2, 3])
Tabela 1. Priorytety i działania Europejskiego Instrumentu Wspierania Rybołówstwa powołanego Traktatem z Maastricht (oprac. własne na podstawie [1, 2, 3])
Priorities of the Finan-cial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance
Measures under particular priorities
Priority 1
Adjustment of the fleet capacity to available fishery resources
scrapping sea vessels,
transfer of vessels to third coun-tries or modification of their use, joint undertakings;
Priority 2
Renewal and moderni-sation of the fishing fleet
building new fishing vessels, modernising fishing vessels, withdrawing fishing vessels for
modernisation; Priority 3
Protection and develop-ment of water resources, fish farming, fishing port facilities, process-ing and marketprocess-ing of fish, inland fishing
protecting and developing water resources,
fish farming,
improving fishing port facilities, processing and marketing of fish
products, inland fishing;
Priority 4 Other measures
small-scale coastal fishing, socio-economic measures, seeking and promoting new
mar-kets for fishery products, activities of manufacturers and
traders,
temporary suspension of business activity,
innovative actions; Priority 5
Technical assistance
technical assistance for measures and projects implemented under them.
Undertakings falling under the above measures also included those concerning the protection of water resources and their intensity was on the increase during the successive financial strategies for the years 1993–1999 and 2000–2006. On the other hand, the current financial strategy for the period 2007–2013 has been based on structural and ecological measures, which are the subject of the next part of the paper.
Activity of the European Fisheries Fund under the 2007–2013 financial strategy
The new financial strategy resulted in a number of organisational and substantial modifications concerning EU regional as well as sectoral policies. As regards the previous strategies, the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance operated under the regional policy and was primarily aimed at the production and processing activities of this sector (which was reflected in the fund’s name). Apart from organisational reforms, the new strategy in-volved some substantive modifications. As regards the former, the fund was transferred to the domain of the sectoral maritime and fisheries policy and its budget was increased. The substantive modifica-tions concern its name, which, in 2007 was changed to the European Fisheries Fund. This fact also manifests a new horizon of the Fund’s activities, which is primarily focused on structural interven-tions aimed at the development of marine areas and sustainable management of water resources, including marine environment protection. Thus, the marine environment was eventually appreciated and treated as a separate area (of support) and no longer as an “addition” to other Community policies and operational programmes, although the European Cohesion Fund also provides support for the marine environment through general environ-mental measures.
The new financial strategy includes five priority axes. They are not the continuation of previous priority axes, but rather their enhancement and extension. They include the following:
Axis 1. Adaptation of the fleet;
Axis 2. Aquaculture, inland fishing, processing and marketing;
Axis 3. Measures of common interest;
Axis 4. Sustainable development of fisheries areas;
Axis 5. Technical assistance.
The measures aimed at protecting the marine environment were extended under these axes, which is noticeable particularly with respect to aquaculture, collective action and sustainable
development of coastal fishing areas. Therefore, the authors present the scope of these axes in greater detail in the tables 2, 3 and 4.
Table 2. Priority axis “Aquaculture, inland fishing, processing and marketing” (own work based on [4, 5, 6, 7])
Tabela 2. Charakterystyka osi priorytetowej „Akwakultura, rybołówstwo śródlądowe, przetwórstwo i obrót” (oprac. własne na podstawie [4, 5, 6, 7]) Measure Projects Water environ-ment – environmentally-friendly farming, – EMAS programme – environmental
management and audit scheme, – organic farming,
– sustainable aquaculture consistent with environmental limitations, following the designation of areas under
the Programme NATURA 2000; Human
and animal health
compensations to mollusc farmers affected by contamination,
control and combating diseases in aquaculture;
Inland fishing
assistance to inland and ice fishing, help in converting inland vessels
for non-fishing activities,
temporary suspension of business activities;
Processing and marketing
improving working conditions, health, hygiene and the quality of products, reducing the impact of fishing on
the environment,
greater re-using of waste and by-products, applying modern technologies and innovative
methods of production,
marketing of products originating from local landings and aquaculture,
life-long education.
Table 3. Priority axis “Measures of Common Interest” (own work based on [4, 5, 6, 7])
Tabela 3. Charakterystyka osi priorytetowej „Wspólne intere-sy” (oprac. własne na podstawie [4, 5, 6, 7])
Measure Projects
Collective action
protection and development of marine flora and fauna,
adaptation of fishing vessels and ports to other activities,
improvement of working conditions and safety, improvement of food quality and safety, enhance management of resources,
management and control of access to fishing areas.
The description given in the tables 2, 3 and 4 de-monstrates the objectives of the European Fisheries Fund. As regards the issues which the authors are interested in, the financing of ecological measures for the maritime environment is primarily allocated to aquaculture and participation in the Environ-mental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
Under this priority axis, ecological activities also involve the implementation of modern and innova-tive technologies with respect to the natural water environment.
The protection and development of water flora and fauna is a crucial measure under the priority axis “Measures of Common Interest”, which allows for maintaining a balanced marine environment.
The whole priority relating to sustainable deve-lopment of the fisheries areas is in fact related to environmental protection, as the definition of sus-tainable development includes measures protecting the marine environment. This priority also involves financing the diversification of activities with re-spect to environmental protection as well as inter-regional and cross-border cooperation between entities. Environmental measures are part of this cooperation, as in the past peripheral border areas were frequently chosen as a location of enterprises and undertakings degrading the environment, and this also concerns marine areas due to their peri-pheral and transborder character.
The authors of the new financial strategy have increased the number of areas supported from the European Fisheries Fund and its primary focus has been shifted to “active” structural actions aimed to enhance entrepreneurship in the fishing industry and protect the environment. This is a European trend, reflected also in the new organisational approach with respect to EU aid provided to its member countries, which is given in the diagram (Fig. 1).
A critical element in the absorption of EU funds is the National Strategy Plan (NSP), which is a component of the Community Strategy and poli-cies as well as the Community Fisheries Policy (CFP). NSPs are compatible with the intervention
priorities of the European Fisheries Fund, with the areas of Common Fisheries Policy and the Euro-pean Council’s horizontal measures including the maritime policy. Consequently, they are subject to so-called parallel monitoring, which means that the member countries report on them to the EU.
The National Strategy Plan includes the fol-lowing elements:
a description and SWOT analysis of the sector; objectives and priorities of the member
coun-tries with respect to sustainable development of fisheries, water resources and the marine envi-ronment consistent with the relevant EU objec-tives and priorities;
identification of available funds for pursuing the national strategy;
procedures for NSP development, implementa-tion and monitoring.
Another issue crucial in the new approach is consistence of the Operational Programme’s guide-lines with the foundations of the European Fisheries Fund. The guidelines for the Operational Pro-gramme integrated with the principles of the Euro-pean Fisheries Fund include the following:
cohesion of the CFP and the NSP;
enhancement of entrepreneurship, creation of new jobs, development of human resources with respect to environmental protection priorities; appropriate allocation of funds to the five
priority axes, including a balanced marine envi-ronment;
promotion of projects for the Lisbon and Göte-borg Strategy;
improvement of human resources;
Table 4. Priority axis “Sustainable development of fisheries areas” (own work based on [4, 5, 6, 7])
Tabela 4. Charakterystyka osi priorytetowej „Trwały rozwój obszarów rybołówstwa” (oprac. własne na podstawie [4, 5, 6, 7]) Measure Projects Sustainable development of fisheries areas
strengthening of the competitiveness of fishing areas,
restructuring, redirecting and diversification of business activities,
small fishing areas, infrastructure, tourist services,
environmental protection,
re-establishment of production potential destroyed by disasters,
interregional and cross-border cooperation, preparation of local development strategies.
Common Fisheries Policy
(all policy areas) Strategic approach Other policies COMMUNITY / EU Community strategies and policies Guidelines for operational programmes Common Fisheries Policy Operational programmes National Strategic Plan National objectives MEMBER COUNTRIES
Fig. 1. New approach to provision of aid (own work based on [8])
Rys. 1. Nowe podejście przy udzielaniu pomocy (oprac. włas-ne na podstawie [8])
encouragement for undertakings representing large added value (high quality standards, envi-ronmentally-friendly methods of production); promotion of sustainable development in
fishe-ries areas;
sustainable development of the community market and enhancement of institutional and administrative capacity.
This brief review of guidelines makes it possible to draw conclusions with regard to the objectives of the Operational Programme and its corresponding Structural Fund designed for tackling challenges related to ecological measures adopted in Lisbon and in Göteborg.
Conclusion
The authors presented support areas related to the European Fisheries Fund to demonstrate its role as an instrument for implementing ecological measures. Thus, the financing of environmental protection is provided not only under the Opera-tional Programme Infrastructure and Environment, but actually under all operational programmes, which is the consequence of the awareness of envi-ronmental degradation and related threats as urgent problems in the global extent. However, the manner of provision of EU aid under the structural funds has led to specialisation inthe utilisation of finan-cial resources. Pursuant to the objectives adopted by the European Fisheries Fund, its priorities in-clude the protection and improvement of the marine environment and natural resources related to the
maritime sector and fisheries, as well as support for sustainable development of maritime areas and inland fisheries.
Furthermore, the European Fisheries Fund is meant to contribute to the achievement of objec-tives of the Common Agricultural Policy and other community policies, which is reflected in particular priority axes and their measures. The compatibility of support in the above-mentioned areas primarily concerns environmental measures.
References
1. http://news.ngo.pl/news/275478.html.
2. BAJKO Z., JÓŹWIK E., SZEWCZAK M. (eds.): EU Funds in Poland for the years 2007–2013. 41 and subsequent pages. 3. The Community budget: The facts in figures. Office for
Of-ficial Publications of the European Communities, Luxem-burg 2000, 11.
4. Fisheries Development Strategy 2007–2013. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the document adopted by resolution of the Council of Ministers of 29 May 2007, Warsaw, 20 and subsequent pages.
5. www.funduszestrukturalne.gov.pl. 6. www.mrr.gov.pl.
7. Commission Directive (EC) no 498/2007 of 26 March 2006 establishing the detailed guidelines for the European Fisheries Fund.
8. http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_pl.htm.
Recenzent: dr hab. inż. Zofia Jóźwiak, prof. AM Akademia Morska w Szczecinie
