Brussels, 06/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - The new EU-Morocco fishing agreement will be concluded in the coming weeks, said EU ambassador to Morocco, Eneko Landaburu, in Casablanca on 4 February. Landaburu said he was “optimistic” about the outcome of the ongoing negotiations that were resumed in November 2012 - after nearly a year's suspended activity for the European fishing fleet. In November 2011, the European Parliament rejected the renewal of the EU-Morocco fishing agreement.
At a press conference in Casablanca, Landaburu said that they had managed in a very short space of time to re-initiate a negotiation which is now under way, and he said he hoped that the agreement would be finalised in a few weeks' time.
Since the negotiations were opened, Landaburu said that they had made great progress in resolving a whole series of technical issues, on the types of fish that can be caught, and on what types of boat and what types of fishery will be allowed.
In Landaburu's view, the climate is excellent and there is a resolve on both sides to succeed, but probably not at the new round of negotiations in Rabat on 11 February. This is because agreement still needs to be found on an important subject - the financial compensation. Landaburu said it was a complicated issue but he remained optimistic, and he gave his personal opinion that he thought there would be an agreement before the end of March. (FB/transl.fl)