Contrary to what the European Parliament’s legal experts have found, the EU Ambassador to Morocco contends there is “no problem” with the legalities in the EU-Morocco agreement on fisheries in occupied Western Sahara.
Western Sahara, originally a Spanish colony, has been occupied by Morocco since 1975. The UN Security Council adopted a peace plan in 1991, but little has happened since, and few nations have recognised Morocco’s sovereignty claim as legitimate.
A controversial fisheries agreement between the European Union and Morocco went into effect in 2006. The agreement provides for the benefits to be transferred to the West Saharan people, 160,000 of which living in refugee camps since more than 30 years, but critics say there is no proof that such has been the case, and the European Parliament’s legal experts found last February that the agreement was contrary to international law.
Speaking at a press conference after a meeting between EU Ambassadors and a Moroccan industry organisation in Casablanca, Eneko Landáburo stated that “the legal services of the European Commission and all advices from independent institutions have shown that there is no problem with the international legality of the fisheries agreement with Morocco”.
As reported by the Spanish EFE news agency, Landáburo added that it was possible that the disputed issue “is used for political reasons, because that is the normal political game, but there is no problem”.
In March, Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki replied to an EU parliamentarian questioning Morocco’s implementation of the agreement that the Commission has asked for detailed information on the subject, expected to be delivered “by the first quarter of 2010” (ending on March 31).
“In any case, the Commission would like to underline that some activities of the sector support programme do benefit the people of Western Sahara, notably in the area of support to professional training”, she added.
At the recent press conference in Casablanca, Ambassador Landáburo noted that the Moroccan authorities were asked to deliver a study on the socio-economic impacts on the population of Western Sahara, as envisioned in the agreement, but that the EU has not yet received a reply.
“It is clear that this will be an important element for the negotiation of the next agreement from (February) 2011 onwards”, he added.