European maritime and fisheries fund (EMFF)

The European Commission has adopted on 17 August a key investment package for the Lithuanian fisheries and aquaculture sectors. Covering the period 2014-2020, the operational programme (OP) under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is worth almost €82 million, including €63 million of EU investments. Investments will be targeted at enhancing the competitiveness, sustainability and viability of Lithuanian fisheries and aquaculture businesses.

The European Commission has adopted investment packages for the maritime, fisheries and aquaculture sectors of Denmark (€267.6m, including €208.4 m of EU funds), Estonia (€129.6m, including €101m of EU funds), Germany (€284.6 m, including €219.6 m of EU funds) and Sweden (€172.9m, including €120.2 of EU funds). The investment is available for the period 2014-2020.

The European Commission has adopted a key investment package for the Slovenian maritime, fisheries and aquaculture sectors worth €32.6m, including almost €25m of EU funds, for the period 2014-2020.

On 6 May 2015 in Zadar, the Commission with the support of FARNET and the Croatian authorities will hold a conference to kick-off Community-led local development (CLLD) in fisheries areas in Croatia.

The conference video and report are now available on the FARNET website

The Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy has published a Call for Expressions of Interest to set up a list of external experts to support Cohesion Policy, regional and urban development. This particular call is interesting for experts in maritime and fisheries issues as well as those involved in the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

The first of a series of country fact sheets on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund's (EMFF) operational programmes is now available in English.

The European Commission has today adopted a €29m investment package for the Maltese maritime, fisheries and aquaculture sectors which includes €23m of EU funding

The Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission, with the assistance of the FARNET Support Unit, is organising a high level conference on the results of Axis 4 of the EFF and the future of Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) in coastal communities.

On 19 January, the European Commission, in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB), launched fi-compass, a new advisory service on financial instruments for the European Structural and Investment Funds.

A new infographic is on-line

The Commission is looking for experts to be appointed in a personal capacity to provide advice on fi-compass , the advisory platform for financial instruments under the ESIF (European Structural and Investment Funds) and EaSI (Employment and Social Innovation) microfinance. Deadline: 30 January 2015

The European Commission has today adopted a key investment package for the Latvian fisheries and aquaculture sector worth almost €184m, including €139m of EU investments.

Supported by the European fisheries funds, a Portuguese community has created a scheme to bring fish directly from the fishermen to the consumers.

The Guidance for Beneficiaries and checklist are now online

Keynote speech by Lowri Evans at the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers' Conference, 'Aquaculture in Motion 2014', Committee of the Regions, Brussels 1 December 2014

The European Commission has reached the halfway mark in its adoption of each Member State's "Partnership Agreement". Partnership agreements between the European Commission and individual EU countries set out the national authorities' plans on how to use funding from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) between 2014 and 2020. They outline each country's strategic goals and investment priorities, linking them to the overall aims of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.