Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-27-Speech-5-017"
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"en.20001027.1.5-017"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, the European Union has had fishing agreements with Morocco since 1992. The agreement currently in force expired at the end of November last year. Under this agreement, around 500 boats from the European Union, 50 of which are Portuguese, have had access to Moroccan waters at an annual cost of around EUR 125 million. As we imagined, the difficulties in negotiating with the Moroccan authorities have been considerable. Morocco values its fishing resources very highly and it is constantly besieged by the great international fishing powers such as Japan, South Korea, and Russia to allow them to fish even more in its waters. It should also be pointed out at this juncture that the fishing agreement with Morocco is part of a broader partnership and cooperation framework under which the European Union also grants Morocco considerable trade concessions and considerable support for its development. I wish to highlight four points in this speech.
Firstly, it must be emphasised that the fishing agreement with Morocco is by far the European Union’s most important agreement, representing more than 30% of all catches by the Community fleet in third-country waters. The 30 000 jobs directly or indirectly dependent on this agreement may seem few in terms of the European Union as a whole, but because they are concentrated in small fishing communities, mainly on the Spanish and Portuguese coasts, where there is no tradition or potential for economic conversion, the loss of these jobs would spell disaster.
Secondly, I must stress, with considerable bitterness, the lack of openness on the part of the Moroccan authorities involved in the negotiations. I do not understand their position for two reasons. Firstly, in the meantime they have been granting private licences to various shipowners from other countries, which contradicts their argument that their difficulties in negotiating with the European Union are to do with the need to conserve fish stocks. Secondly, Morocco’s inflexibility is also incomprehensible given our willingness to open up our markets to Moroccan products, and the aid that has been provided under the general cooperation agreement with Morocco.
Another aspect that I wish to highlight is the fact that at the end of this month, temporary aid paid to fishermen and shipowners in compensation for this year of inactivity comes to an end. This situation is unsustainable, since they would all rather work than receive aid. The Commission and the Council of Ministers must shoulder their responsibilities, which involves not merely extending aid until the situation is resolved, but also reviewing the general framework for cooperation with Morocco in the event that this situation drags on.
Finally, as the body responsible for conducting the negotiations, the Commission must keep Parliament properly informed about what is going on, since we find the current situation quite incomprehensible. Equally incomprehensible is the passivity of the Fisheries Council."@en1
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