The European Commission adopted, on Friday 7 November, a proposal to open negotiations on a new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Morocco.
If the EU Council gives the green light to this decision, the Commission will be authorised to conduct the negotiations on behalf of the European Union, in accordance with the directives set out in the draft decision, a Commission spokesperson told Agence Europe, adding that the European Parliament will be kept fully informed throughout the process.
The future agreement will have three main objectives: - provide fishing opportunities for EU vessels in the waters covered by the agreement; - establish a clear legal framework for fishing activities, based on the principles of economic, financial, technical and scientific cooperation in the fisheries sector, ensuring the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources; - support the development of a sustainable fisheries policy in Morocco, in particular through financial and technical support from the EU.
The future fisheries agreement will be negotiated independently of the recently signed agreement on tariff preferences between the EU and Morocco (see EUROPE 13724/30). However, the Commission will ensure alignment with the tariff agreement on common legal requirements stemming from the EU Court of Justice ruling of 4 October 2024.
This ruling invalidated previous fisheries and trade agreements between the EU and Morocco on the grounds that they applied to Western Saharan products and waters without the consent of the Saharawi people.
The new agreement on tariff preferences establishes a framework in which the economic advantages granted to Morocco apply only to products originating in Morocco, to the exclusion of Western Sahara, except with the explicit agreement of the representatives of this territory.
The future fisheries agreement should therefore follow the same logic.
The last fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco expired in July 2023. It granted licences to 138 EU vessels, including 92 Spanish vessels, to fish in Moroccan waters. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)