91997E2217

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2217/97 by Jesús Cabezón Alonso (PSE) to the Commission (30 June 1997)

Subject: EU-Morocco fisheries agreement

Representatives of the Moroccan Government have announced that they are not intending to renew the current fisheries agreement with the European Union, as a consequence of which only the Moroccan fleet will be allowed to continue fishing in the waters concerned.

Does the Commission know whether or not the exclusion of the EU fleet will be extended to other fleets such as the Russian and Japanese ones?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-2217/97 and E-2219/97 given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (18 September 1997)

The fisheries agreement with Morocco has been concluded on a four-year basis as from 1 December 1995, so that it has been in effect for only about one and a half years. The Commission considers it premature to draw any conclusions yet about fishing relations with Morocco from 1 December 1999.

Before then, it will be necessary to assess whether the goals to which the two sides committed themselves under the current agreements have been attained and to make an evaluation of progress in their cooperation over fishing, which constitutes a key element in future relations between the Community and Morocco.

On the subject of Morocco's fisheries agreements with other countries, the Commission has no information about the intentions of the Moroccan authorities regarding renewal of them.

On the subject of the Euro-Mediterranean agreement establishing an association between the Community and its Member States on the one hand and Morocco on the other, the Commission would like to point out that it has been concluded for an unlimited period. However, it is true that the Community and Morocco have committed themselves to examining, after 1 January 2000, the situation in trade in agricultural and fishery products with a view to arriving at greater liberalisation of mutual trade as from 1 January 2001.