The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has assured that if necessary, Spain will ask for it activation of European measures to assist the fleet if the fisheries agreement with Morocco is suspended. The expiration date of the protocol and the one marked in red by the minister is next July 17th.

The status of the protocol will be discussed today in the European Council of Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries at the request of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, countries with significant influence pelagic fleet in Moroccan waters and to those concerned about the treaty situation, such as Spain.

“This is a European deal. I will try to activate, as always, first European act and then there will always be Spain,” Planas said upon his arrival at the meeting. “We will look into possible support mechanisms that can be implemented for both our shipowners and fishermen,” the minister said, recalling his recent visit to Morocco, where he spoke with the Moroccan authorities, among others, about this agreement.

Licenses for 128 ships

Agreement between the EU and Morocco, which offers licenses for 128 ships (93 Spaniards), ends this summer and negotiations to renew it will be conditioned by a sentence to be pronounced by the European Union’s Court of Justice, expected in September.

Planas said today that he considers it “the right question” to ask the European Commission what will happen after July 17, when the protocol expires, which “offers 138 licenses in this agreement, of which 93 corresponds to Spainin particular the Andalusian, Galician and Canary Islands fleets”.

In September 2021, the General Court of the European Union ruled in favor of the Polisario Front, which stated that the agreement with Morocco had been made without the consent of the Saharawi people. The EU-Morocco fisheries agreement and associated implementation protocol entered into force on 18 July 2019 and allows 128 EU to fish in Moroccan waters ships from Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy and United Kingdom. The protocol lasts for four years.

In September 2021, the European Union Court of Justice ruled in support of the Polisario Front, a national liberation movement from Western Sahara, which argues that the agreement with Morocco was made without the consent of the Saharawi people. The board is launched appeal against this decision on 16 December 2021.