Reform of EU-cofinanced fisheries and aquaculture aid

The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has approved Royal Decree 683/2026, of August 26, which modifies the regulatory framework for aid to professional organizations in the fisheries and aquaculture sector co-financed by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). The provision, signed by King Felipe VI and Minister Luis Planas Puchades, is published in the Official State Gazette number 211, of August 27, 2026, in section I of general provisions (p. 116888), with reference BOE-A-2026-18204.

The regulation, which is of a basic nature, adapts Spanish legislation to the new Common Fisheries Policy and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, and modifies five royal decrees: Royal Decree 956/2017 (framework for aid to professional organizations), Royal Decree 418/2015 (first sale of fishery products), Royal Decree 277/2016 (professional organizations), Royal Decree 1044/2022 (management of the fishing fleet) and Royal Decree 1046/2022 (governance of the CAP Strategic Plan and the EAGF and EAFRD funds). It was deliberated by the Council of Ministers on August 25, 2026.

More flexibility in EMFAF co-financing

The first block of changes affects aid for production and marketing plans. The EMFAF co-financing percentage, which until now was fixed rigidly, is now established as a maximum limit of 70% of the total amount of the aid, with the remainder corresponding to the national or regional contribution. The specific percentage will be set in each call for applications, allowing the financing to be adapted to the needs and budgetary availability.

Furthermore, eligible expenses are expanded with a new category:

• Membership fees paid by fisheries producer organizations to integrate into national or international fisheries and aquaculture bodies or entities, when they are directly linked to the objectives of the common organization of markets.
• The eligible amount for the total of the fees may not exceed 20,000 euros per plan and per year.
• Fees for associations of producer organizations and membership fees for professional organizations regulated by Royal Decree 277/2016 are excluded.

More agile management of the fishing fleet

Royal Decree 1044/2022 is amended to flexibilize the mechanisms for the contribution and transfer of fishing capacity. The distribution of available capacity will be carried out through ministerial orders for competitive bidding calls, the resolution of which will be the responsibility of the General Secretariat for Fisheries. The procedures for the entry of capacity are streamlined, expanding the possibilities for contributing reductions and adjusting the required percentages between censuses, with new criteria for equivalent censuses (trawlers in international waters, cod fleet, freezer purse seiners, bottom longliners, among others). Annex IV of the regulation is suppressed.

Adaptation to the new CAP

In the agricultural sector, the decree adapts the governance of the Spain CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 to the suppression of the performance settlement procedure introduced by Regulation (EU) 2025/2649. The annual performance report will now be prepared by compiling quantitative information from the paying agencies, and the control of unit amounts is integrated into the European Commission’s reliability and conformity procedures. Furthermore, the term “correction of operations” is replaced by “regularity of operations.”

The regulation will enter into force the day following its publication, August 28, 2026. The first article will apply to the 2026 call for production and marketing plans, and the third article to the 2025 agricultural financial year and subsequent years.

The reform affects the entire Spanish extractive and aquaculture sector, which will see the processing of European aid and the management of its fleet capacity streamlined, within a context of transition toward a fisheries and agricultural policy oriented toward results and sustainability.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 211, August 27, 2026, Sec. I, p. 116888 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18204).