Marokko laat Europese vissers na zes jaar weer toe tot kustwateren (en)

EU/Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement: past and future

The new Partnership Agreement, initialled today, will last for a period of 4 years. The previous Protocol covered the period 1 December 1999 to 30 November 1999. Negotiations to renew this Protocol ended without agreement.

1995-1999 Fisheries agreement

This was by far the most important agreement between the EU and a third country. It covered a range of fishing possibilities. These included:

This was by far the most important agreement between the EU and a third country. It covered a range of fishing possibilities. These included:

*Progressive reduction of fishing possibilities from year 1 to year 4

The total number of EC vessels authorised to fish under this agreement was set at 629 in 1995, to be progressively reduced to 516, in 1999.

The financial contribution paid by the Union was set at € 500 million. This overall contribution was split into four component parts:

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  € 355 million for the financial compensation;

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  € 121 million for co-operation in the fisheries sector;

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  € 16 million for scientific research on marine living resources;

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  € 8 million for training.

Some key elements of the 1995-99 agreement:

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  The overall allocation of € 145 million for promoting scientific research, co-operation and training in the fisheries sector was viewed as one of the major innovating elements of this agreement.

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  One important element for the development of the Moroccan fisheries sector was the obligation on some EU vessels to land in Moroccan ports.

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  Ship-owners contribution amounted to an average of € 13 million per year.

Negotiations to renew the previous agreement

The technical meetings and negotiations held between the EU and Morocco to renew the previous agreement ended in February 2001. On March 26th 2001, Commissioner Fischler announced that the EU and Morocco could not reach an agreement. Overall, from December 1999 to March 2001, 13 technical meetings and 7 rounds of meetings at political level took place.

Two main elements were blocking progress in the negotiations:

The first related to the fisheries content of a new 3 year Agreement, and in particular, the fishing possibilities (number of vessels) and conditions (obligatory landings, fishing zones, gear, biological rest periods etc) for certain key commercial fisheries, notably cephalopods and shrimps.

The second main divergence concerned the amount of compensation to be granted for an agreement substantially reduced which would have made fishing possibilities far less attractive and profitable for EU fleet concerned.

Public aid to the fleets affected by the non-renewal of the agreement

A large number of Spanish and Portuguese vessels were affected by the non-renewal of the 1995/99 agreement.

Compensation was granted to the affected fleets from 1 December 1999 to June 2000 under the current Fisheries Fund (the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance, FIFG) for temporary cessation of activities. This compensation was extended until 31 December 2000 and subsequently first to June and then to December 2001. The overall compensation over the period amounted to € 194 million, with an EU contribution of € 145 million.

In addition to the measures provided under the FIFG, specific measures were adopted by the Council of Fisheries Ministers to support the scrapping or restructuring of the fleet concerned, permanent transfer of vessels to a non-EU country, modernisation of vessels and socio-economic measures such as training, retraining or early retirement schemes. The EU participation to these aid measures amounted to € 197 million, split between the two affected Member States, Spain € 186.5 million (94.6%) and Portugal € 10.5 million (5.4%). The payments for the conversion, transfer and modernisation of vessels were possible till December 31st 2003. By that time Spain had used around 95% and Portugal 98% of the available funds.

The reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and the move to Fisheries Partnership Agreements

The 2002 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy also involved the implementation of a new approach to fisheries agreements. The Commission tabled a Communication which was endorsed by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. This Communication defined the move towards a new form of fisheries partnership agreements which involves:

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  the continuation of the activities of the European distant water fleets;

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  the respect of the Union's international commitments which requires ensuring coherence between, on the one hand, the EU fisheries policy and, on the other, the environmental and development policies;

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  co-operation with our international partners to achieve sustainable fisheries beyond EU waters, in accordance with the general principles of the Common Fisheries Policy (measures based on scientific advice and application of the precautionary