Europeche welcomes omnibus simplification package for reducing regulatory burden on fishing sector
Europêche welcomes the European Commission’s upcoming Omnibus Simplification Package presented by President Ursula Von der Leyen on Wednesday, February 26.
This marks a significant first step towards addressing longstanding concerns about regulatory complexity and administrative burdens.
The fishing sector urges the commission to go further and conduct a comprehensive review of fisheries and environmental policies to improve competitiveness while maintaining sustainability goals.
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 per cent and on SMEs by at least 35 per cent. The sector emphasises 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 per cent, and full-time employment in the sector has dropped by 33 per cent. 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.
"We welcome this initiative as a first step, but the Commission must go deeper," said Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche. "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.
