1.CONTEXTOFTHEPROPOSAL•Reasons for and objectives of the proposalOn 16 July 2025, the Commission adopted a proposal for the next multi-annual financialframework (‘MFF’) for the period 2028-2034. This includes support to the implementation ofthe Common Fisheries Policy, to the European Ocean Pact and to the Union’s maritime andaquaculture policy as part of the National and Regional Partnership Fund (theFund).Such funding is a key enabler for the generational renewal and energy transition of fisheries,sustainable aquaculture activities, and processing and marketing of fishery and aquacultureproducts, sustainable blue economy in coastal, islandand inland areas, marine knowledge,skilling of blue economy related activities, the resilience of coastal communities and inparticular of small-scale coastal fishing, the strengthening of international ocean governanceand observation and enabling seas and ocean to be safe, secure, clean and sustainablymanaged.The Fund will contribute to the implementation of the CFP as referred to in Article 43(2)TFEU, and Article 2 of the [CFP Regulation] as well as the activities laid down under theEuropean OceanPact.As a global ocean actor and the world's fifth largest producer of seafood, the Union hasastrong responsibility to protect, conserve and sustainably use the oceans and their resources.Moreover, safe and secure seas and oceans areessential for an efficient border controland forthe global fight against maritime crime, thereby addressing citizens' security concerns.•Consistency with existing policy provisions in thepolicy areaTheCFP, the European Ocean Pact, maritime policy and aquaculture Regulation will beoperating within the National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRP Plan) and its singlerulebook. It will build upon the visibility and effectiveness of EMFAF, the EuropeanMaritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund which hasbeen helping to achieve sustainablefisheries and conserve marine biological resources. It also helps achieve the UN’s SustainableDevelopment Goal 14 (‘conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources’),to which the EU is committed. Therefore, while tightly connected to the NRP Plan, the CFP,Ocean Pact, maritime policy and aquaculture will maintain its independent legal base as setout in Article 43(2)of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).Efficient and effective implementation of actions supported by the NRP Plan, including forthe fisheries and ocean related activities, depends on good governance and partnershipbetween all actors of the sector, while using effectively the support in guiding the energytransition of the sector in the coming years, and recognising the critical role of oceans andtheir ecosystems in providing services beyond the fisheries sector–where carbon sinkfunctions should be well recognised and enhanced.•Consistency withother Union policiesThe CFP, Ocean Pact, maritime and aquaculturepolicies aim to improve synergies andcoherence with other measures contributing in food security, preservation and restoration ofbiodiversity and aquatic ecosystems, and all dimensions ofthe Ocean under the National andRegional Partnership (NRP Plan), in particular within the framework of cohesion policy,agriculture policy support, as well as with the European Competitiveness Fund and the GlobalEuropeFund. The complementarities between the policies covered under this Regulation 1 2relate mostly to investments in the support to coastal communities, the support to skills,training, working conditions and attractivity of the sector.Thisproposalis also consistent with the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy whenit comes to providing food and it is a vital contributor to the overarching food securityambitions, maintaining a well-functioning internal market for fisheries and aquacultureproducts and sustainability (Common Market Organisation, similar to agriculture). On ruraldevelopment, synergies and overlap are possible when aquaculture activities are involvedand/or coastal areas are concerned, but such support is still limited and more efforts arenecessary to reinforce thesesynergies.Theproposal and its objectives are consistent with the Union's policies,especiallyenvironmental, climate, cohesion, agriculture, social, market and trade policies.This proposal is consistent with the initiatives set out in the Ocean Pact as an integratedapproach to funding and ocean-relevantpoliciesthat cover a broad range of elements: theconservation of marine biological resources as one of the five EU exclusive competences, therestoration of marine biodiversity, the management of andinnovation in fisheries andsustainable aquaculture activities, the activities on implementing the CFP, ocean knowledge,maritime security, food security, developing and scaling-up a competitive and sustainableblue economy, including offshore and ocean energy, biotech and desalination, safeguardingunderwater cultural heritage, supporting other blue economy s