Brussels, 10/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 December, the European Parliament approved the conclusion of the new fisheries protocol between the EU and Morocco that will allow 126 vessels from 11 EU countries to fish in Moroccan waters. The report by Carmen Fraga (EPP, Spain), recommending that the EP approve the agreement, was adopted by 310 votes to 204, with 49 abstentions.
The new agreement will be applied during a four-year period after its entry into force. The rapporteur considers that the new protocol will meet the past concerns of the European Parliament. In December 2012, the Parliament had refused to approve the one-year extension of the fisheries protocol with Morocco, which expired on 27 February 2012.
The financial contribution paid by the EU in exchange for access to Moroccan waters for fishing will be reduced from €36.1 million to €30 million annually (i.e. a reduction of 17% from the EU budget and including a rise of nearly 200% in the contribution borne by the fishing vessel owners). The number of ships authorised goes from 137 to 126 but the fishing possibilities rise by 33%, essentially due to the increase enjoyed by the industrial pelagic fishing category (which goes from 60,000 to 80,000 tonnes). The main Spanish regret is still that ships catching cephalopods are not included.
Controversial agreement
Members of several political groups voted against the agreement as they say it does not abide by international law given that it does not rule out the coastal waters of the Western Sahara and that the Sahrawi population was not consulted. Raul Romeva (Greens/EFA, Spain) said that members have chosen to put their heads in the sand by voting in favour of the controversial agreement. “The EU-Morocco fisheries agreement is the most shameful episode of the EU's neo-colonial fisheries policy. According to the terms of the agreement, the Moroccan government will unlawfully grant fishing rights to the EU fishing fleet, authorising it to fish in the waters of the Western Sahara while, under international law, it is not entitled to do so”, he argued. “In addition to the question of the Western Sahara, the agreement raises the same concerns about its doubtful profitability and the sustainability of fishing. The EU's reputation on foreign policy and fishing is now tainted by that agreement”, Romeva concluded.
The protocol, however, contains a human rights clause which could lead to its suspension in the event of violation by Morocco of democratic principles and fundamental rights. Alain Cadec (EPP, France) said that the agreement was “mutually beneficial” and will benefit “all local populations”. The vote will make it possible to “avoid the development of private, opaque licences on which the EU has no visibility. One of the problems would have been the fishing by Chinese boats in Moroccan areas without any consideration for the preservation of the resources or for human rights”, the MEP said.
Gilles Pargneaux (S&D, France) took the view that the vote was a “victory for the EU-Morocco friendship group (of which he is the chairman) which has been working for two years to ensure that the fisheries agreement is again in force”. He felt it was illusory to want to resolve the problem of the Western Sahara “with rejection of the fisheries agreement” and stated that the Western Sahara's proposal for autonomy presented by Morocco to the United Nations in 2007 “was the only possible solution” (our translation throughout). (LC/transl.jl)