Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2181 of 29 June 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund as regards the starting dates and time periods for the inadmissibility of applications for support
Data as of 2026-07-04 · Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Subject matter and scope
This Regulation applies to applications for support from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) and specifies the period of time during which such applications submitted by operators who have carried out any of the actions referred to in Article 11(1) or Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 shall be inadmissible.
Definition
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 ) apply. In addition, the following definition apply: ‘infringement points’ means the points assigned to an operator for a Union fishing vessel under the point system for serious infringements set out in Article 92 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
Inadmissibility of applications submitted by operators who have committed or are held liable for serious infringements under Article 42(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009
1. An application for support submitted by an operator shall be inadmissible for a period of time established pursuant to Annex I where the competent authority has determined in a decision that the operator submitting the application has committed or is held liable for serious infringements under Article 42(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. 2. For the purpose of triggering inadmissibility and calculating the duration of the inadmissibility period, only serious infringements committed as from 1 January 2013 and for which a decision was taken within the meaning of paragraph 1, shall be taken into account. 3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, for the purposes of paragraph 1 only serious infringements whose points have not been deleted pursuant to Article 92(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 shall be taken into account. 4. The starting date of the inadmissibility period shall be the date of the decision taken by the competent authority within the meaning of paragraph 1.
Inadmissibility of applications submitted by operators whose vessel is included in the Union IUU vessel list or whose vessel is flagged to a non-cooperating third country
1. An application for support submitted by an operator shall be inadmissible for a period of time established pursuant to Annex II if the competent authority has determined in a decision that: (a) that operator has been involved in the operation, management or ownership of a fishing vessel included in the Union IUU vessel list as set out in Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008; or (b) that operator has been involved in the operation, management or ownership of a vessel flagged to a country included in the list of non-cooperating third countries provided for in Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008. 2. The starting date of the inadmissibility period shall be the date of the decision taken by the competent authority within the meaning of paragraph 1.
Inadmissibility of applications submitted by operators in the aquaculture sector who have committed or are held liable for environmental offences
1. If a competent authority has determined in a decision that an operator has committed or is held liable for one of the offences set out in Article 3 and Article 4 of Directive 2008/99/EC ( 6 ) of the European Parliament and of the Council, applications for support from the EMFAF made by that operator pursuant to Article 27 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 shall be inadmissible pursuant to Annex III. 2. The starting date of the inadmissibility period shall be the date of the decision by a competent authority determining that an offence set out in Article 3 or Article 4 of Directive 2008/99/EC was committed. 3. For the purposes of triggering inadmissibility and calculating the duration of the inadmissibility period, only offences committed as from 1 January 2013 and for which a decision was adopted within the meaning of paragraph 1 shall be taken into account.
Inadmissibility of applications submitted by operators who have committed or are held liable for fraud in the context of the EMFF or the EMFAF
1. If a competent authority determines that an operator committed or is held liable for fraud in the context of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) or EMFAF, all applications for EMFAF support submitted by that operator shall be inadmissible pursuant to Annex IV. 2. The inadmissibility period shall start from the date of the final decision determining the commission of a fraud as defined in Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 7 ) .
Determination of the threshold triggering inadmissibility and of the duration of inadmissibility
1. If an operator has committed or is held liable for any of the actions referred to in Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6, the Member State concerned shall determine if the threshold triggering inadmissibility is reached. This determination shall be carried out by the Member State pursuant to column (a) of Annexes I, II, III or IV to this Regulation. 2. If the Member State concerned has determined pursuant to paragraph 1 that the threshold triggering inadmissibility is reached, it shall then determine the corresponding duration of inadmissibility pursuant to: (a) column (b) of Annexes I, II, III or IV to this Regulation; and (b) where applicable, columns (c) and (d) of Annexes I or III to this Regulation.
Determination of threshold triggering inadmissibility where the operator owns or controls more than one fishing vessel
1. If an operator owns or controls more than one fishing vessel, the inadmissibility period of an application for support submitted by that operator shall be determined separately for each individual fishing vessel, in accordance with Article 3 or Article 4. 2. In addition, applications for support submitted by that operator shall also be inadmissible: (a) if applications in relation to more than half of the fishing vessels owned or controlled by that operator are inadmissible for support pursuant to Article 3 or Article 4, or (b) where infringement points have been assigned for serious infringements pursuant to Article 42(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90(1)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, if the average number of infringement points assigned per fishing vessel owned or controlled by that operator equals or exceeds 7 points.
Transfer of ownership
1. If an operator is subject to an inadmissibility period pursuant to Articles 3, 4 and 6, the inadmissibility period resulting from serious infringements committed prior to the change of ownership shall not be transferred to the new operator in the case of sale or transfer of ownership of the fishing vessel. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where, in accordance with the point system established by Article 92 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, infringement points are assigned for serious infringements committed under Article 42(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90(1)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 prior to the change of ownership of the fishing vessel, those infringement points shall be taken into account for the purposes of triggering the inadmissibility and calculating the duration of the inadmissibility period of the new operator pursuant to Article 3 and Article 8(2) only when the new operator commits, after the change of ownership, a serious infringement under Article 42(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90(1)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
Permanent withdrawal of the fishing licence
Applications for support submitted by an operator whose fishing licence has been permanently withdrawn for any of the fishing vessels owned or controlled by that operator shall be inadmissible from the date of withdrawal of the fishing licence until the end of the period of eligibility of expenditure for an EMFAF contribution referred to in Article 63(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, if that fishing licence was withdrawn: (a) in accordance with Article 92(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and Article 129(2) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 ( 8 ) ; or, if applicable, (b) as a result of sanctions for serious infringements imposed by the Member States in accordance with Article 45 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.
Arrangements for recovering aid
1. If any of the situations referred to in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 occur between the date the operator submitted the application and 5 years after the final payment, the support paid from EMFAF relating to that application shall be subject to a financial correction by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 44 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 and Article 103(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. 2. The amount to be recovered shall be proportionate to the nature, gravity, duration and repetition of the situations referred to in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139.
Transitional provisions
This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification of inadmissibility periods of applications for EMFF support granted under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/288 ( 9 ) .
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . It shall apply from 1 January 2021.
Threshold triggering inadmissibility and time period of inadmissibility for operators who have committed serious infringements under Article 42 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009
ANNEX I Threshold triggering inadmissibility and time period of inadmissibility for operators who have committed serious infringements under Article 42 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 Categories of serious infringements (a) Threshold triggering inadmissibility (b) Period of time of inadmissibility (c) Conditions for an increased period of inadmissibility (d) Conditions for a reduced period of inadmissibility Serious infringements of categories 1 and 2 as referred to in Annex XXX to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 ( *1 ) A total of 9 infringement points, irrespective of the number of serious infringements 12 months 1 additional month of inadmissibility per additional infringement point above the threshold If two infringements points are deleted pursuant to Article 133(3) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011, the period of inadmissibility is reduced by four months All serious infringements as defined in Article 42 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 and in Article 90 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, with the exception of serious infringements of categories 1 and 2 as referred to in Annex XXX to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 1 serious infringement 12 months per serious infringement 2 additional months of inadmissibility per serious infringement of category 7, 9, 10, 11 or 12 as referred to in Annex XXX to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011. If during the inadmissibility period the operator commits or is held liable for a serious infringement of category 1 or 2 as referred to in Annex XXX to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011, the period of inadmissibility is extended by one month for each infringement point assigned for those serious infringements ( *1 ) This row applies if only serious infringements of category 1 or 2 were committed. If other serious infringements were committed before, simultaneously or after serious infringements of category 1 or 2, and during the same inadmissibility period, serious infringements of category 1 or 2 shall be taken into account only for the purpose of columns (c) and (d) of the second row.
Threshold triggering inadmissibility and time period of inadmissibility for operators whose vessel is included in the Union IUU vessel list or whose vessel flies the flag of a non-cooperating third country
ANNEX II Threshold triggering inadmissibility and time period of inadmissibility for operators whose vessel is included in the Union IUU vessel list or whose vessel flies the flag of a non-cooperating third country Type of infringement (a) Threshold triggering inadmissibility (b) Period of time of inadmissibility The operator has been involved in the operation, management or ownership of a fishing vessel included in the Union IUU vessel list as set out in Article 27 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 1 infringement The whole period during which the fishing vessel is included in the Union IUU vessel list and, in any event, not less than 24 months The operator has been involved in the operation, management or ownership of a vessel flagged to a country included in the list of non-cooperating third countries provided for in Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 1 infringement The whole period during which that country is included in the list of non-cooperating third countries and, in any event, not less than 12 months
Threshold triggering inadmissibility and time period of inadmissibility for operators who have committed the environmental offences set out in Articles 3 and 4 of Directive 2008/99/EC
ANNEX III Threshold triggering inadmissibility and time period of inadmissibility for operators who have committed the environmental offences set out in Articles 3 and 4 of Directive 2008/99/EC Environmental offence (a) Threshold triggering inadmissibility (b) Period of time of inadmissibility (c) Conditions for an increased period of inadmissibility (d) Conditions for a reduced period of inadmissibility Offences set out in Article 3 of Directive 2008/99/EC, for which the competent authority has determined that the offence was committed with serious negligence 1 offence 12 months per offence 6 additional months if the competent authority has explicitly referred to the presence of aggravating circumstances or has determined that an offence committed by the operator was carried out over a period of more than one year Provided that the inadmissibility period lasts at least 12 months in total, reduction by 6 months if the competent authority has explicitly referred to the presence of mitigating circumstances Offences set out in Article 3 of Directive 2008/99/EC, for which the competent authority has determined that the offence was committed intentionally 1 offence 24 months per offence Offences set out in Article 4 of Directive 2008/99/EC 1 offence 24 months per offence
Threshold triggering inadmissibility and time period of inadmissibility for operators who have committed fraud in the context of the EMFF or the EMFAF
ANNEX IV Threshold triggering inadmissibility and time period of inadmissibility for operators who have committed fraud in the context of the EMFF or the EMFAF (a) Threshold triggering inadmissibility (b) Period of time of inadmissibility Any fraud committed by the operator in the context of the EMFF or EMFAF From the date of the final decision determining the commission of a fraud as defined in Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 until the end of the period of eligibility of expenditure for an EMFAF contribution referred to in Article 63(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.