Brussels, 23/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - Member states' ambassadors to the EU held an exchange of views on the proposal to extend the fisheries protocol between the EU and Morocco by a year. Discussions revealed divisions among member states on the need to extend the agreement, despite assurances from the Commission of the economic benefits brought to the people of the Western Sahara. Coreper (the Committee of member states' Permanent Representatives to the EU) will return to this issue in the near future.
During the Coreper meeting, a number of delegations (including those of Germany, Austria, Finland and Slovenia) called for more time before a final position is taken on the text extending the agreement. Denmark and Sweden pointed out that they were against extension. The United Kingdom is thought also to have reservations but is expected to abstain from voting. France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Latvia and Malta all would like the text extending the agreement to be adopted quickly, especially as the mandate granted by the Council to the Commission had been respected.
On 1st June, the European Commission adopted proposals seeking to extend by one year the protocol to the fisheries partnership agreement between the European Community and the kingdom of Morocco (see EUROPE 10393). The Commission negotiated prolonging the current fisheries agreement, which expired on 27 February of this year, from 28 February 2011 to 27 February 2012, with the financial contribution paid by the EU to Morocco set at €36.1 million for the year.
The Commission said that the proposal complied with the mandate granted by the Council (renewal without change of fishing opportunities and sectoral support, restricting to one year the time for the negotiation of a new framework for relations with Morocco, and a new provision under which Morocco has to present a report to the Commission on how the sectoral support is being implemented, including an indication of how the support is spread geographically).
The Commission also provided the Council with information supplied by Morocco on the benefits the protocol brings to the Sahrawi people. It also presented its own assessment of all that the former protocol had brought: almost 42,000 jobs created, most of which in the south, thanks to the Moroccan national fisheries strategy, which receives 12% funding from the EU under the terms of the sectoral support. (L.C./transl.rt)