Brussels, 18/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 18 February, the member states of the EU finally gave their support to the proposal to extend by one year the current protocol to the fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco. This extension, which was supported by qualified majority within Coreper (Committee of Permanent Representatives of the member states to the EU), will allow the EU and Morocco to negotiate a new bilateral partnership agreement in the field of fisheries. The current protocol expires on 27 February. The text on the extension of the agreement is still to be adopted formally by the Council of Ministers of the EU on Monday 21 February. The Commission will then propose this arrangement to Morocco, before starting talks with a view to possibly concluding a new agreement.
Discussions between the member states were tough, before the Hungarian Presidency noted the existence of a qualified majority at Friday's Coreper meeting in favour of extending the EU-Morocco fisheries protocol by one year. At the working group of the Council the day before, seven member states (Nordic countries, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Slovenia) formed a blocking minority, expressing concerns over this extension, due to the issue of the Western Sahara. Basically, these countries are concerned that the fisheries agreement violates international law because it includes this territory, which has been annexed to Morocco since 1975. However, the Commission has received information from Morocco regarding the impact of this fishing agreement on the local populations (including those of the Western Sahara).
At Friday's Coreper, the Commission announced that it intended to give the member states information on the data provided by the Moroccan government on the impact of the agreement. This seems to have helped to ease the situation, as the Netherlands and Slovenia joined the camp of countries in favour of the extension.
Some countries, including Spain, France and Poland, asked in vain for a two-year extension. The Commission will do all in its (legal) powers to prevent any interruptions to the activities of the 119 EU vessels in Morocco. As well as the one-year extension, the Commission's proposal provides for two additional conditions: - adjusting fishing opportunity in line with the international commitments of the EU and scientific opinion (a possible reduction of fishing opportunity would also mean a reduction of the financial contribution of the EU, which currently stands at €36 million a year); - a regular reporting system on the implementation of sectorial policies, particularly at regional level. (L.C./transl.fl)