EU pledges EUR 1m for landmark WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies
Fishing boat
(DAVOS) - The European Union pledged EUR 1 million on Friday for the Fisheries Funding Mechanism, which forms part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies reached last year.
"The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is a major step forward for ocean sustainability," said EC vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis: "It prohibits harmful fisheries subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world's fish stocks." He encouraged other members to give their support. "By pledging €1 million to the Fisheries Funding Mechanism, the EU is helping those who do not currently possess sufficient technical know-how or capacity to do just that.," he said.
Established in November 2022, this new Fisheries Funding Mechanism aims to support sustainability in fisheries and eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies. It will provide grants to developing and least developed countries so they can benefit from technical assistance and capacity-building to implement the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
These grants will complement and leverage other existing assistance available for sustainable fisheries. The announcement was made by Commission executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis in Davos, at the occasion of his meeting with WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies reached at the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference on June 2022 delivered meaningful new rules which clamp down on subsidies that lead to over-fishing. It is the WTO's first multilateral agreement to support sustainability.
For the Agreement to become operational, two-thirds of WTO Members have to notify their acceptance of it to WTO. Negotiations are also ongoing at the WTO on outstanding issues on fisheries subsidies, including on further enhancements of the Agreement.
Key outcomes of WTO 12th Ministerial Conference