Brussels, 10/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - The partnership agreement in the field of fisheries concluded between the EU and Morocco for four years is set to expire on 27 February 2011. The European Commission therefore hopes to finalise a draft mandate (with it is negotiating on behalf of the EU) in the very near future and put it before the Council of Ministers of the EU. This dossier, however, is particularly sensitive.
Maria Damanaki, European Fisheries Commissioner, has sent a document with a view to consultation between the various services of the Commission, in which she lays out a number of options. The first is to limit the scope of the future EU-Morocco fishing agreement to the northern part of Morocco (thus excluding the waters off the coast of the Western Sahara). Damanaki feels that Morocco has not yet fully demonstrated that the local populations are benefiting from the downstream economic impact of the current agreement. It is worth noting that the agreement provides for the payment of a financial contribution from the EU of €36.1 million a year (€13.5 million of which will go to support Morocco's fisheries policy), in exchange for granting fishing licences to more than 119 EU vessels (of which 100 are Spanish). Damanaki is also planning to include a clause on human rights. The second technical solution is to set in place temporary measures (extending current arrangements) until talks on the renewal of the agreement conclude. At the end of next month, Community vessels will no longer be entitled to fish in Moroccan waters unless a new agreement or interim solution is in place. (L.C./transl.fl)