Brussels, 19/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission spokesman has interpreted positively the outcome of the meetings the European Commissioner for Fisheries, Mr Fischler, had on Thursday in Rabat with the Moroccan authorities. The term "fisheries agreements" is being dropped to avoid ambiguity and to make it clear that there is no question of extending past agreements in one form or another; but at the same time, consensus has been built on examining fisheries "cooperation" or a "partnership". Such cooperation would be based on the Moroccan plan for fisheries development and take the interests of both parties into account.
Morocco is interested in fleet modernisation, the sustainable use of resources, processing and research. The EU's interests primarily concern fishing possibilities for Spanish and Portuguese fishermen in Moroccan waters. It is obvious for the Commission's Spokesman's Service that the respective demands will have to taken into consideration in one way or another to ensure balanced cooperation. The fact that Mr Fischler had an audience with the King (in addition to meetings with the Prime Minister and Fisheries Minister) is being interpreted as a strong political signal. The atmosphere of the talks was "positive" and the results "encouraging". Technical talks to flesh out this broad outline are planned for July.
In Morocco, fisheries organisations are calling for any agreement to make provision for the unloading of catches in Moroccan ports, the principle of cooperation and joint ventures being, "Moroccan fish in exchange for European technology and investments".
General issues of cooperation between the EU and Morocco were not discussed during these meetings, which focused on fisheries alone.