São Paulo – The Council of the European Union (EU) has authorized the extension of its fishing agreement with Morocco, the North African country, for one more year. The news was disclosed by African news agency Panapress and is part of an agreement disclosed by the EU.
The extension was agreed on while both regions await the completion of talks regarding a new agreement in the area. The current agreement forecasts that European nations fish in Moroccan waters in exchange for financial compensation from the European Union.
Currently, for example, there are 119 European ships authorized to fish in Moroccan waters, of which 100 under the Spanish flag, according to Panapress. Compensation by the EU is 36.1 million euros per year, of which 13.5 million in financing for the Moroccan fishing sector itself.
This is the second time that the agreement between both regions is extended, the first time it expired, after being in place for five years, was in February 2010. Of the 27 EU member states, 20 voted in favour.
The European bloc accepted extension after Moroccan approval. According to Panapress, there was EU resistance for approval due to the agreement including the waters in Western Sahara, whose international statutes are controversial.
*Translated by Mark Ament
