Brussels, 15/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a press release published in the country's media, the Moroccan minister for fisheries has confirmed that negotiations will be held in Rabat on 18 July on the new fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco. It is hoped that this sixth round will “allow the two sides to examine the possibilities for cooperation in the fisheries sector and to go into greater depth on technical and financial issues discussed at the last meeting, which was held in February 2013”, the minister said.
An unofficial source of local “commentators” quoted in the media suggest that the conclusion of an agreement of this kind is by no means close at hand. The fifth session, these commentators say, gave the negotiators “a lot of hard work to do, as there were so many blockages at a technical level, which were frequently made more complicated by non-technical considerations”. The same unofficial sources add that the issue of financial compensation also remains to be resolved. There is a considerable gap between what Europe is offering and what Rabat is asking for. “It is therefore hard to imagine Morocco accepting today what it turned down two years ago”, the unofficial commentators state. The visit to Morocco by King Juan Carlos, from 15 to 17 July, may offer some hope of resolution. (FB/transl.fl)