“Dialogue and cooperation between the European Union and Morocco continues, within the framework of the existing strong bilateral partnership,” assured the EU to Hespress AR today, as the union continues to push for the renewal of the bilateral fisheries agreement set to expire in upcoming months.
Before the July 17th deadlines, the Union is holding meeting to extend and renew the agreement, which Polisario separatists continue to contest for its inclusion of Morocco’s southern waters.
Suspicion of an annulment is due to the decision of the European Court of Justice at the end of September 2021, to freeze trade agreements concluded between the European Union and Morocco that include agricultural and fishery products, claiming that they were concluded without the consent of the residents of a “disputed area.”
Peter Stano, the official spokesperson for the European Union, stated in his statement to Hespress AR that “in 2021, the General Court of the European Union annulled the Council’s decision to approve the conclusion of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Morocco and its protocol; But it kept its effects, until the European Court of Justice decided on the appeals brought by the Council and the Commission against the ruling of the General Court.
Therefore, “Pending the decision of the European Court of Justice, the implementation of the current protocol can continue until the end of its term on July 17, 2023.”
The official spokesman for the Union revealed that the Commission is implementing the agreement in close cooperation with member states, the European Union and the partner country.
“In parallel with full respect for the ongoing procedures in the European Court of Justice, ideas about crystallizing a new partnership began to move forward,” he stated.
The Europeans fear the consequences of a possible suspension of the fishing agreement, which benefits 128 European vessels fishing off the coast of the Kingdom.
Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy and the UK are all benefitting from the agreement, actively fishing in Moroccan waters.
On Monday, Luis Planas, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, asked the European Union to activate support measures to help the fleet of the Kingdom’s northern neighbor.
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