Brussels, 02/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and Mauritania are currently negotiating the conclusion of a new protocol to the fisheries agreement between the parties concerned. During a press conference in Brussels on 31 May, the Greens Group at the European Parliament expressed its concern about the way these talks are developing. The Greens stress that there are not enough provisions in favour of protecting fish stocks and regret the lack of documents on the state of fish stocks off the Mauritanian coasts. Habott Sidi Ahmed, former Mauritanian deputy and negotiator for EU/ACP fishing agreements, considers the proposals made by the Commission on behalf of the EU are insufficient for now, especially from the financial point of view. He says, however, that the democratic transition currently underway in Mauritania is a favourable political context for bringing theses talks to a positive conclusion. The EU/Mauritania bilateral fisheries agreement will come to an end on 31 July 2006. The agreement covered the period 2001-2006 and provided for financial compensation of €430 million (€86 million annually on average).