The Fisheries Committee in the European Parliament today approved the extension of the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement.

Before the vote, sources in the Parliament said they had indications the vote would be very tight and could go either way. The Committee meeting room was unusually packed by spectators interested in the outcome of the vote.

In the end, however, the agreement was approved with some margin. 12 members in the Committee voted for the agreement, 8 voted against, and 1 member abstained.

The rapporteur Carl Haglund had proposed to decline consent to the agreement, but his report was adopted with an amendment that effectively reversed the conclusion of his report, which means the Fisheries Committee approves the agreement.

A few weeks ago, the Budget and Development Committees recommended to decline consent to the agreement. The decisive plenary vote in the European Parliament will take place during the December session.

Axel Naver

Link: Meeting documents

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