Brussels, 03/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Danish Presidency established on Friday 3 February that there was qualified majority support among member states on the mandate to be given to the European Commission for negotiation of a new fisheries partnership agreement with Morocco. The current protocol was cancelled at the end of December after the European Parliament (EP) rejected the text (see EUROPE 10542 and 10532). At the COREPER (committee of the permanent representatives of the member states to the EU) meeting, only the United Kingdom and Sweden indicated that they would not support the text setting out the negotiating brief for a new EU-Morocco fisheries agreement. Germany and Ireland accepted the compromise backing the approach taken by Spain and France over the last few days. Finland and the Netherlands will abstain when the text is formally adopted by the Council of Ministers of the EU on 10 or 14 February.
As Spain and France, in particular, wanted, the compromise makes no explicit reference to the Western Sahara, speaking only of “south of 27°40'N”. Whether or not to specifically mention the Western Sahara in the mandate had been the main stumbling block. Several member states and many MEPs contend that the agreement is politically unfair in that it brings no benefit to the Sahrawi people. The Presidency plans to attach a statement to the text of the mandate explicitly mentioning the Western Sahara. It was the formulation of the statement that prevented a blocking minority from being formed.
The mandate text stresses that the new protocol must comply with international law and the United Nations convention, and serve the interests of all the local populations concerned. Morocco will be asked to provide regular reports on the economic and social impact, including the geographical spread, of the sectoral support provided by the protocol. (LC/transl.rt)