Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – New European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis underlined the importance of his role on his first day in office on 1 Dec 2024.
Costas Kadis, a Cypriot national, was designated for his position by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in September after having been put forward to her by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. At the time, he urged the fisheries portfolio to constitute an “upgrade” from the health portfolio Cypriot Commissioner Stella Kyriakides held between 2019 and Saturday.
He obtained 26 votes in his acceptance and six against during his hearing at the European Parliament’s fisheries and oceans committee last month, with von der Leyen’s second commission, and then being approved by the EU Parliament in a plenary session later in the month.
How does Costas Kadis view his new role in fisheries?
Kadis said that he considers the position to be “extremely important”.
“The management and the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries approach is an exclusive competence of the European Union, which is the subject of only five thematic policies. This is the first time a Cypriot commissioner has been given a portfolio that has under their responsibility such a broad scope,”
he stated.
He noted that the European internal market is “the world’s second-largest market for fishery and aquaculture products in terms of business, after China”, and that for this reason,
“it is the highest honour for Cyprus that the Cypriot commissioner, from a small island in the Mediterranean, is taking on a portfolio of such weight”.
How will Costas Kadis ensure the sustainability of EU fisheries?
As he looks forward to his five-year tenure in the position, he expressed his overall goal will be
“to ensure the sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience of Europe’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors, but also the protection and sustainable management of our seas”.
He stated an overall evaluation of the common fisheries approach is already underway, with the commission having found it in June to evaluate the policy’s effectiveness in many key dimensions.
