Fish stock management under the EU's Common Fisheries Policy shows progress, according to the policy evaluation.

Omissions

• The Commission's own headline for the evaluation is 'Commission evaluation shows slow progress in fishing sustainability and ongoing challenges for EU fishers', i.e. progress is explicitly qualified as slow.
• The evaluation highlights 'slow fish stock recovery' as a key finding, alongside hindered economic performance, generational renewal problems, and limited transition to better selectivity.
• Environmental NGOs (e.g. Oceana) argue that despite progress, the CFP lacks adequate implementation, control and enforcement.
• Sources consulted were published in 2026 (the evaluation press release, dated around February 2026, i.e. before the 2026-07-09 session), so the MEP could have known them.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Press release IP/26/938 'Commission evaluation shows slow progress in fishing sustainability and ongoing challenges for EU fishers'Title: 'Commission evaluation shows slow progress in fishing sustainability and ongoing challenges for EU fishers'. Body: 'A decade of the common fisheries policy has put Europe on a more sustainable path, protecting better the marine resources our fishers rely on.' Key findings listed include: 'Slow fish stock recovery, hindered economic performance and generational renewal' and 'Limited transition to better selectivity and slow progress ...'
• SecondaryEUToday — 'Commission Review Finds Slow Progress in EU Fisheries Sustainability'Article reporting on the European Commission's evaluation review of the CFP, characterising the findings as 'slow progress in EU fisheries sustainability', consistent with the Commission press release IP/26_938.
• SecondaryEUMOFA — Monthly Highlights N. 5-2026References the 'evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Regulation' and links to Commission press release ip_26_938 as the source on the state of EU fisheries, noting the theme of sustainable fisheries.
• SecondaryOceana Europe — 'Defending the EU's Common Fisheries Policy'NGO assessment stating that despite progress, 'the CFP lacks adequate implementation, control and enforcement' — qualifying the positive reading of the evaluation with serious implementation caveats.