Ondanks verzoek Raad: geen urgente behandeling EP van visserij-overenkomst EU-Marokko (en)

MEPs voted today to deny the Council's request for an urgency procedure on the fisheries agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco. The vote followed an extraordinary committee meeting, during which the rapporteur suggested adopting an accelerated procedure instead.

The House voted 53-127-2 to deny the Council request for an urgency procedure. Committee Chairman Philippe Morillon (ALDE, FR) said that debates were still not finished in the fisheries committee, and that the development committee had also expressed interest in giving an opinion on this sensitive topic. He therefore explained that a 14-9 majority of the committee opposed the urgency procedure. Heinz Kindermann (PES, DE) argued that the Parliament will in any case be unable to change the content of the fishing protocol, and that his group therefore supported the urgency.

The Council had requested an urgency procedure for the ratification process of the fisheries agreement with Morocco, with a plenary vote this Thursday in Strasbourg. This would have allowed the protocol to enter into force on 1 May 2006 (after adoption on 25 April in the Council). MEPs rejected this proposal.

The fisheries committee's alternate timeframe -- proposed by the rapporteur Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (EPP-ED, ES) -- would include a discussion of the report in committee on 18-19 April, (with a prior deadline for amendments on April 6th), a vote in committee on 3 May, and another extraordinary committee meeting on 15 May to allow the report to be voted on during the May plenary in Strasbourg. This schedule would allow the protocol to enter into force on 1 June, adding one month to the waiting period before fishermen could commence activities in the area. It would still allow the EU to ratify the accord before the first payments are due on 30 June.