Brussels, 01/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - Implementation of the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement is apparently imminent, according to Morocco's Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Aziz Akhannouch. The entry into force of the new agreement will nevertheless depend on the outcome of discussions of the joint committee which is scheduled from 10 September, said Akhannouch in the statements relayed by Moroccan media on 25 August. According to other sources, the decision is reportedly to bring this meeting forward to 4 September in order to catch up on a delay in the ratification procedure which is causing frustration to the Spanish fishing organisations, which are the main parties affected by this agreement.
A press release from the Moroccan ministry also states that there is no relationship between this procedure and the agricultural relations file that remains open for discussion. The joint committee was established under the memorandum of understanding that governs fisheries relations. “On ratification of the Morocco-EU fisheries agreement on 15 July 2014, the Moroccan authorities immediately proposed that this joint committee be held. The European side informed Morocco that it was unable to hold this committee in the immediate future, given the difficulty of a suitable date in the diaries of the European institutions”, the Moroccan ministry stated in its press release. (FB)