European Parliament takes a new step on Miracanarias’ offshore wind complaint and requests a preliminary examination by the European Commission. The development communicated on 27 August is the request for a preliminary investigation by the European Commission and the referral of the case to the Fisheries (PECH) and Environment (ENVI) Committees.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions (PETI) has communicated a new development in Petition No. 0620/2026, submitted by the Asociación de Armadores y Pescadores Miracanarias in relation to the rollout of offshore wind, its potential effects on professional fishing and the marine environment, and the correct application of European Union law. The initiative is supported by other organisations from the fisheries and maritime sectors.
In a communication dated 27 August 2026, the Chair of PETI states that he has asked the European Commission to carry out a preliminary investigation into the matter and that the petition has also been referred to the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries (PECH) and Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI).
The letter also recalls that the petition had previously been declared admissible, a step already known and which now serves as the background to this new institutional development.
Miracanarias’ complaint raises compliance with EU law
The European Parliament’s official acknowledgement identifies the electronic petition submitted on 2 March 2026 under the title: “Failure by Spain to comply with EU law in the implementation of offshore wind to the detriment of the fisheries sector”. The Petitions Portal subsequently published a shortened title referring to the impact of offshore installations on professional fishing activity in Spain.
The public summary of the petition states that Miracanarias, through its petitioner, maintains that the Spanish
authorities ignored scientific studies specifically commissioned on the effects of offshore wind energy and incorrectly applied European Union legislation. PETI has not yet ruled on the substance of those claims. The
development now communicated consists of referring the matter to the European Commission for a preliminary examination and referring it to PECH and ENVI.
A technical document on benthic ecosystems at the centre of the sector’s concerns
Among the documentation retained by the sector is a technical document entitled “Interaction between pressures related to ORE energy emissions and benthic communities”. The text compiles scientific literature on electromagnetic fields from subsea cables, noise, vibrations, heat emissions, artificial light at night and other factors associated with offshore renewable energy, and notes that the available information remains fragmented and presents difficulties for its integration and application on a large scale.
The document also devotes a specific section to the potential effects of floating offshore wind on benthic ecosystems, including changes in sedimentation, biocolonisation and trophic processes, and covers research and monitoring programmes carried out in different European countries.
Sector organisations state that this document was accessible on a portal of Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and that it ceased to be available less than 48 hours later. The sector retains a copy and considers it necessary for its origin, purpose, publication date, removal and place within the technical work used for offshore wind planning to be officially clarified PETI places the matter within the European environmental, maritime and fisheries framework.
PETI’s letter recalls that the deployment of offshore wind energy must comply with Union legislation, including rules on habitats and birds, the marine strategy, maritime spatial planning, the Common Fisheries Policy, strategic environmental assessment and environmental impact assessment.
The simultaneous referral to PECH and ENVI keeps both the fisheries and environmental dimensions within the procedure. For sector organisations, this dual referral is particularly relevant in a debate affecting access to fishing grounds, displacement of fishing effort, marine ecosystems and the need to assess cumulative impacts before new uses of maritime space are consolidated.
The case remains open and the fisheries sector will continue to submit technical, scientific and legal documentation during this new stage of European examination.
The European Union itself recognises the complexity of coexistence
The European Maritime Spatial Planning Platform, funded by the European Commission, recognises that coexistence between offshore renewable energy and fisheries requires reconciling two activities with very different characteristics and that the relationship between the two sectors can be complex and conflictual. Issues identified include spatial exclusion, loss of access to traditional fishing grounds, additional costs arising from displacement to other areas and potential ecological effects on habitats and species.
The European platform itself warns that these effects may be particularly relevant for small-scale fisheries because of their greater dependence on local resources and nearby coastal areas. It also notes that knowledge gaps remain regarding the spatial distribution of this fleet and that it is essential to integrate fishers – particularly small-scale fishers – into maritime planning processes.
For Miracanarias, this European institutional recognition reinforces one of the central issues in Petition 0620/2026: compatibility between offshore wind and fisheries cannot be taken for granted, but must be demonstrated through planning, sufficient information, environmental and socio-economic assessment and effective participation by the sector before new uses of maritime space are consolidated.
KEY FACTS
- Petition – 0620/2026
- Initial registration – 2 March 2026
- PETI communication – 27 August 2026
- Action requested – Preliminary investigation by the European Commission Referrals Committee on Fisheries (PECH) and Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI)
Petition promoter: Asociación de Armadores y Pescadores Miracanarias.
Supporting organisations: Asociación Nacional de Artes Menores (ANARME), Cooperativa de Pescadores Pescatobal, Cooperativa de Pescadores Pescarestinga and Plataforma por el Mar Canario
Image by David Will from Pixabay