Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Commission Consultation, 31 January 2018
The Commission is consulting on a draft framework ('roadmap') for an evaulation of the current marketing standards for fishery and aquaculture products. The following are the first few sections from the draft. The consultation closes on the 28 February 2018.
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Evaluation and fitness check roadmap - Evaluation of the marketing standards framework for fishery and aquaculture products A copy of the document is available on this site (click on image). |
Context
EU marketing standards on fishery products ensure that the EU market is supplied with sustainable products and that these products comply with the same quality requirements, thus contributing to fully exploiting the potential of the internal market of such products and warranting fair competition and improving the profitability of production. Given the significant imports of fishery and aquaculture products into the EU market, marketing standards also ensure equal treatment between EU and non-EU products.
The current marketing standards cover fresh and chilled products1, preserved tuna and bonito2 and preserved sardines and sardine-like products3.
The revised Common Market Regulation, adopted in 2013, confirmed the existing marketing standards while providing for the possibility to establish new/amended standards. However, during the evaluation of the regulation and the impact assessment leading to its revision in 2011 it was highlighted that marketing standards were too rigid and outdated, and that more flexible standards should be laid down to achieve the objectives of the Common Market Regulation and to take account of innovation in the supply chain for fishery and aquaculture products. A first step in this direction has been undertaken in 2015 by aligning minimum marketing sizes with minimum conservation reference sizes. Purpose and Scope
The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the extent to which the existing marketing standards framework for fishery and aquaculture products is fit for purpose, and whether it allows achieving the objectives of the Common Market Regulation.
The results of this evaluation will form the base for a possible future impact assessment and legislative proposal to revise the current standards framework.
The evaluation should assess to what extent the EU marketing standards for fishery products are fit for purpose and what role they play for the actors involved in the supply chain as well as for consumers and control authorities in the Member States. The evaluation will also assess the coherence between the various pieces of legislation.
The evaluation will assess the performance of the marketing standards framework looking at the following criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added-value.
The evaluation will cover EU Member States and will assess the existing marketing standards in the context established by the revised CMO Regulation since 2014. To assess their performance in terms of controllability and uptake, a longer timespan will be considered (as a minimum starting from 1st January 2010).
