Mr President, Commissioner, tomorrow it will be exactly a year since our last debate here in Parliament on the subject of Morocco. It is hard to believe that a whole year has gone by. A great deal of water has flowed under the bridge since, and yet the agreement has expired and not been replaced. We hear talk of extremely difficult discussions and tough negotiations. So, here we are a year on, and we could almost be having the same debate. But that would get us nowhere. I had hoped that reason would prevail, apparently in vain. Now we have the Commission's press release and Mr Busquin's announcement this morning. A Moroccan delegation will present its position in Brussels on 30 October. Commissioner Fischler has also confirmed this to me. Mind you, we are talking here about the Moroccan position. That will not bring the negotiations to an end. My question is, have they even begun? Or are we clutching at straws here? We held a special meeting of the Committee on Fisheries this week and passed a joint resolution intended to back up our oral question this morning and underpin our concern. My problem with the committee meeting and with the resolution itself is that we may be intervening in an ongoing procedure and, so far, we have not exactly learned anything new. Would we have done better to postpone? But then, do we have enough time? I understand full well the concerns of the Spanish and Portuguese fishermen who are affected. As a Member of the European Parliament from the German coast I can comprehend what the fishermen and their families, who have literally been high and dry for months, are going through. A few weeks ago, I myself was in Algeciras on the southern coast of Spain, which is not far from Morocco. The boats were tied up in the harbours and the fishermen were reduced to idleness. They are dissatisfied and disappointed with Europe. The fact that the agreement has still not been renewed is having huge social and economic repercussions because it affects both the fishermen and over 20,000 employees in the processing industry. There is, however, one piece of good news: financial compensation has been extended to the end of this year, although it is just a drop in the ocean. Of course the agreement with Morocco is a political issue. And sensitivity and diplomacy do, of course, have their place in politics. Now is not the time, with hardly any light at the end of the tunnel, to start banging our fists on the table and making demands. I think we banged our fists on enough tables last year and should proceed with caution. Caution is the watchword. But do we still have enough time? Unfortunately negotiations are dragging on. I would like to see the Commission and Parliament working together to get things moving. Would it be totally unreasonable here to call for the European Parliament to be directly involved in the negotiations? The importance of the agreement and its financial repercussions on the Community budget justify our involvement. If this is self-evident, why have we done nothing about it? Do things need to be hidden behind closed doors? I am most curious as to the latest developments, as to how the next few crucial days will turn out and as to what can or must be done to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. I am tentatively expecting a fast and satisfactory outcome. I wish the Commissioner all the luck in the world and bid a very warm welcome to the Moroccan delegation.

Political group: PPE-DE