Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council

• Published date: 20 May 2014
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea, L 149, 20 maggio 2014,Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 149, 20 de mayo de 2014,Journal officiel de l’Union européenne, L 149, 20 mai 2014

02014R0508 — EN — 16.07.2019 — 003.001

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►B REGULATION (EU) No 508/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 149 20.5.2014, p. 1)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2017/1787 of 12 June 2017	L 256	1	4.10.2017
►M2	REGULATION (EU) 2019/1022 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 June 2019	L 172	1	26.6.2019

Corrected by:

►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 088, 31.3.2017, p. 22 (508/2014)

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▼B

REGULATION (EU) No 508/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 15 May 2014

on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council

TITLE I

SUBJECT-MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Subject-matter

This Regulation defines Union financial measures for the implementation of:

(a) the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP);

(b) relevant measures relating to the Law of the Sea;

(c) the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture areas and inland fishing; and

(d) the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP).

Article 2

Geographical scope

This Regulation applies to operations carried out in the territory of the Union, unless otherwise provided for in this Regulation.

Article 3

Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Regulation and without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, the definitions referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013, Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 apply.

2. For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘Common information sharing environment’ (CISE) means a network of systems with a decentralised set-up developed for the exchange of information between users in order to improve their situational awareness of activities at sea;

(2) ‘cross-sectoral operations’ means those initiatives that mutually benefit different sectors and/or sectoral policies, as referred to in the TFEU, and that cannot be accomplished entirely through measures encompassed within respective policy areas;

(3) ‘electronic recording and reporting system’ (ERS) means a system for the electronic recording and reporting of data as referred to in Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009;

(4) ‘European marine observation and data network’ means a network that integrates relevant national marine observation and data programmes into a common and accessible European resource;

(5) ‘fisheries and aquaculture area’ means an area with a sea, river or lake shore, including ponds or a river basin, with a significant level of employment in fisheries or aquaculture, that is functionally coherent in geographical, economic and social terms and is designated as such by a Member State;

(6) ‘fisherman’ means any person engaging in commercial fishing activities, as recognised by the Member State;

(7) ‘inland fishing’ means fishing activities carried out for commercial purposes in inland waters by vessels or other devices, including those used for ice fishing;

(8) ‘integrated coastal zone management’ means strategies and measures such as those described in Recommendation 2002/413/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 );

(9) ‘integrated maritime governance’ means the coordinated management of all sectoral policies at Union level affecting the oceans, seas and coastal regions;

(10) ‘Integrated Maritime Policy’ (IMP) means a Union policy whose aim is to foster coordinated and coherent decision-making to maximise the sustainable development, economic growth and social cohesion of Member States, and notably the coastal, insular and outermost regions in the Union, as well as maritime sectors, through coherent maritime-related policies and relevant international cooperation;

(11) ‘Integrated maritime surveillance’ (IMS) means a Union initiative aimed at enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in surveillance activities in respect of the European seas through information exchange and collaboration across sectors and borders;

(12) ‘maritime spatial planning’ means a process by which the relevant Member State’s authorities analyse and organise human activities in marine areas in order to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives;

(13) ‘measure’ means a set of operations;

(14) ‘small–scale coastal fishing’ means fishing carried out by fishing vessels of an overall length of less than 12 metres and not using towed fishing gear as listed in Table 3 of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 26/2004 ( 2 );

(15) ‘vessels operating exclusively in inland waters’ means vessels engaged in commercial fishing in inland waters and not included in the Union fishing fleet register.

TITLE II

GENERAL FRAMEWORK

CHAPTER I

Establishment and objectives of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

Article 4

Establishment

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is hereby established.

Article 5

Objectives

The EMFF shall contribute to the achievement of the following objectives:

(a) promoting competitive, environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially responsible fisheries and aquaculture;

(b) fostering the implementation of the CFP;

(c) promoting a balanced and inclusive territorial development of fisheries and aquaculture areas;

(d) fostering the development and implementation of the Union’s IMP in a manner complementary to cohesion policy and to the CFP.

The pursuit of those objectives shall not result in an increase in fishing capacity.

Article 6

Union priorities

The EMFF shall contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy and to the implementation of CFP. It shall pursue the following Union priorities for the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture and related activities, which reflect the relevant thematic objectives referred to in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013:

(1) Promoting environmentally sustainable, resource–efficient, innovative, competitive and knowledge–based fisheries by pursuing the following specific objectives:

(a) the reduction of the impact of fisheries on the marine environment, including the avoidance and reduction, as far as possible, of unwanted catches;

(b) the protection and restoration of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems;

(c) the ensuring of a balance between fishing capacity and available fishing opportunities;

(d) the enhancement of the competitiveness and viability of fisheries enterprises, including of small–scale coastal fleet, and the improvement of safety and working conditions;

(e) the provision of support to strengthen technological development and innovation, including increasing energy efficiency, and knowledge transfer;

(f) the development of professional training, new professional skills and lifelong learning.

(2) Fostering environmentally sustainable, resource-efficient, innovative, competitive and knowledge-based aquaculture by pursuing the following specific objectives:

(a) the provision of support to strengthen technological development, innovation and knowledge transfer;

(b) the enhancement of the competitiveness and viability of aquaculture enterprises, including the improvement of safety and working conditions, in particular of SMEs;

(c) the protection and restoration of aquatic biodiversity and the enhancement of ecosystems related to aquaculture and the promotion of resource-efficient aquaculture;

(d) the promotion of aquaculture having a high level of environmental protection, and the promotion of animal health and welfare and of public health and safety;

(e) the development of professional training, new professional skills and lifelong learning.

(3) Fostering the implementation of the CFP by pursuing the following specific objectives:

(a) the improvement and supply of scientific knowledge as well as the improvement of the collection and management of data;

(b) the provision of support to monitoring, control and enforcement, thereby enhancing institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administration, without increasing the administrative burden.

(4) Increasing employment and territorial cohesion by pursuing the following specific objective: the promotion of economic growth, social inclusion and job creation, and providing support to employability and labour mobility in coastal and inland communities which depend on fishing and aquaculture, including the diversification of activities within fisheries and into other sectors of maritime economy.

(5) Fostering marketing and processing by pursuing the following specific objectives:

(a) the improvement of market organisation for fishery and aquaculture products;

(b) the encouragement of investment in the processing and marketing sectors.

(6) Fostering the implementation of the IMP.

CHAPTER II

Shared and direct management

Article 7

Shared and direct management

1. Measures covered by Title V shall...