Call to amend EU-Morocco fisheries deal

Pressure is being put on the Maltese government and the five Maltese MEPs to propose amendments to a draft fisheries agreement between Morocco and the EU which is expected to be given the go-ahead shortly.

In a letter addressed to Frans Agius, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment, and to all the MEPs, Joe Mifsud, president of the local Euro-Med Movement, urged all parties to oppose the current draft agreement and instead propose changes so that Western Sahara would be excluded from this agreement.

According to the movement, which has joined a coalition of campaign groups, trade unions and politicians from across Europe and around the world, the present form of agreement between Morocco and the EU violates international law.

The issue dates back 30 years to when Morocco invaded the North African territory of Western Sahara. According to the campaign promoters, tens of thousands of Sahawari people were forced out of their homes and are still living in refugee camps in the Algerian desert.

Mr Mifsud said that the current draft Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Morocco will allow the EU fishing access to Morocco waters including in the illegally occupied waters of Western Sahara. This would violate international law and prolong the 30-year-old conflict.

The campaign, called Fish Elsewhere, calls on members of the European Parliament and the EU's member states to specifically prohibit EU vessels from fishing in the waters of Western Sahara.

The campaigners are arguing that the draft agreement currently fails to specify the southern limit of Morocco, thereby allowing fishing licenses to be granted in the waters of Western Sahara, a territory which Morocco has occupied for 30 years.

The EU appears to be divided on this issue as Western Sahara waters are considered to offer excellent fishing resources which many EU countries would like to access.