On Thursday, the European Parliament will vote on whether or not to refer the recent renewal of the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement to the European Court of Justice.

If the initiative receives support from a majority of MEPs on Thursday, this will be the first time that Parliament exercises its new (Lisbon) powers to seek an opinion from the Court on the legality of an EU international treaty (Article 218(11) TFEU).

The current fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco allows for the EU fleet to fish in the waters of the Western Sahara, a Non-self-governing territory according to the UN.

Raül Romeva i Rueda, a Green MEP and one of the promotors of the resolution, noted in a briefing that “Many people consider this to be illegal, and many others argue that it is legal.”

At a press conference today he added, “We want legal certainty in this discussion that has been dragged out too long.”

The vote will take place at noon on Thursday.

Raül Romeva i Rueda has had one more Morocco agreement on the agenda this week. On Monday 26 September, the Fisheries Committee voted on his opinion on a EU-Morocco trade liberalisation agreement on agricultural products and fishery products. The fisheries committee voted against Mr Romeva’s opinion, which means that the fisheries committee is in favour of giving its consent to the agreement.

Axel Naver

Links:
Read the resolution
Andrew Duff Wants Controversial Eu-Morocco Fish Pact To Go To European Court (ALDE)
MEPs seek to have controversial agreement referred to ECJ for legal opinion (Greens/EFA)

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