Press Release: Fisheries: Commission proposes additional funding for Regional Advisory Councils

On 27 November 2006, the European Commission further acknowledged the important contribution of the recently established Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) to the application of the Common Fisheries Policy by proposing to increase the amount of EU financial support that they currently receive. To allow for this, the Commission proposes to amend the legal base of the RACs and to define them as bodies contributing to the European interest. The Commission’s proposed amendment would strengthen the RACs and provide them with a stable annual contribution from the EU budget. The EU grant would cover up to 90 % of their costs. The annual allocation would amount to €250,000 per RAC. This should cover both their operational costs and their translation and interpretation costs.