A 20-year retrospective on the provision of fisheries subsidies in the European Union

Abstract

The next few months will be crucial in determining whether the world’s major fishing nations will deliver on commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies. Timing is of heightened importance given that the EU—the second-largest subsidizer—is reforming its financial instrument for fisheries. This article therefore examines the last 20 years of subsidies provided to the fisheries sector by the EU and supports discussion of the potential future for EU fisheries subsidies and the chance of success for the SDGs. Significant changes have occurred to EU fisheries subsidies during this period. Partly these changes have occurred as a result of the removal of certain capacity-enhancing subsidies and partly due to additional funds being allocated to beneficial forms of public funding. However, progress is slow and a significant amount of capacity-enhancing subsidies remain. Furthermore, the true extent of any reduction in capacity-enhancing subsidies may be shrouded by the Pollyannaish classifications of subsidization, but most disconcerting are the recent positions adopted by both the European Parliament and Council of the EU, which aim to reintroduce some of the most harmful subsidies, thereby putting the progress needed to achieve sustainable fisheries at risk.