Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-15-Speech-1-164"
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"en.20060515.18.1-164"2
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"There is a lot to be said about the EU’s fisheries policy. There is no doubt a lot of politics involved over and above the actual fisheries agreements. This agreement in particular has a very great deal of politics associated with it, and there are many uncertainties where Western Sahara is concerned.
Morocco has been occupying Western Sahara since 1975, and the world community has still not succeeded in solving this issue. Morocco has refused to accept the UN’s plan for a referendum and has unfortunately failed to contribute to any form of dialogue or negotiation.
I am extremely concerned that, by voting in favour of this report, we are giving Morocco opportunities to exploit fishing resources belonging specifically to Western Sahara and its people. The legal analyses are contradictory and, as many of these point out, the position under international law is unclear because the boundaries of Morocco’s territorial waters are being erased. It may lead to Morocco distributing fishing licences belonging to Western Sahara, something that would contravene both the UN Charter and international law. Morocco has done this before, and the money has not benefited the West Saharan people. I shall therefore support the amendments limiting the agreement to what is compatible with international law. I think it important for the EU not to recognise the policy of occupation. Rather, we should show that we want to see a solution to this conflict regarding what is Africa’s last colony. If the amendments do not go through, I and, I hope, many others intend to vote against this agreement. We cannot say that the agreement is just about fisheries and the conditions under which fishermen operate. It is, to the very highest degree, about politics, and that is something we must realise. We have a big responsibility to make our position clear, and that is something we can do by voting against this agreement."@en1
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