Brussels, 18/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - In Rabat on Thursday 18 July, the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) and Morocco kicked off the sixth round of negotiations on an agreement on the new EU-Morocco fisheries agreement (see EUROPE 10888).
There is every indication that this will be the final round of talks and therefore the last chance for a new bilateral fisheries agreement. “We are confident that the current good atmosphere can produce results”, we were told by a source close to fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki.
The negotiations have been at a standstill since February due, amongst other things, to the issue of the Western Sahara and the economic costs of the agreement. The previous agreement provided for €36.1 million a year to be paid by the EU in exchange for access to Moroccan waters for European vessels. Rabat is calling for the envelope to be increased to €40 million (in view of changes in the technical conditions negotiated to improve fishing opportunities for the European fleet). However, the EU is looking to reduce its contribution to a level of between €25 and €28 million.
In April, the fisheries commissioner said that the only ongoing problem in the negotiations was of a political nature - the guarantees provided by Morocco on the respect of human rights in the Western Sahara.
EU fishing vessels abandoned the area in December 2011, when the European Parliament refused to extend the EU-Morocco agreement due to doubts over its economic viability, environmental sustainability and the benefits of the agreement for the population of the Western Sahara. The Spanish fishermen have been affected the most, 70 vessels from this country having received compensatory public aid up to the end of December 2012.
Fervent Spanish hopes
Spain states that it is “confident”. This is what Spanish Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Miguel Arias Canete said on Wednesday. The visit by Juan Carlos to Morocco from 15 to 17 July has shored up hopes of a compromise, as the friendship between Morocco and Spain has been much celebrated. The president of the Andalusian federation of fishing associations (FAAPE), Pedro Maza, is also convinced that this sixth round of negotiations will be “the last”. “There will be an agreement and we believe that it will be definitive”, Maza said. However, he warned that a “viable agreement” was needed. The fishing association of the region of Cadiz, the Cofradia (Guild) de pescadores de Barbate (Cadiz), remain concerned, as the fallout of the region will be hefty if there is no agreement, they state.
In Morocco, the announcement of the resumption of negotiations has not led to any expressions of hope, but to a detailed list of the elements on the table (compensation, size of fleet). The most burning question is whether the effort to conclude a new agreement will run into the same political obstacles (meaning the question of the Sahara and the neighbouring fishing zones). “Even if it is signed by Morocco, the fishing agreement must be validated by the European Parliament and will not be implemented straightaway”, a Moroccan source pointed out. (LC/FB/transl.fl)