WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2219/97 by Jesús CABEZÓN ALONSO to the Commission. Cooperation between the European Union and Morocco
Date: 1997-06-30
Institutions: CABEZON ALONSO, European Parliament
Subjects: Morocco, agreement (EU), agricultural product, cooperation agreement, fishery product, fishing agreement, fishing fleet, liberalisation of trade

17. 3. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 82/45

Any aid granted by the state or through public resources which distorts or threatens to distort competition by
favouring certain undertakings or the production for certain goods in so far as it affects trade between Member
States constitutes state aid within the meaning of Article 92.1 of the EC Treaty. If all of these criteria are met, the
Commission is required to establish, following the procedure pursuant to Article 93 of the EC Treaty, whether
the aid is compatible with the EC Treaty.

On the basis of the information provided, which is of a general nature without specifying in concrete terms the
nature or amount of the possible aid, the Commission does not see scope for further action at this stage. However,
if additional information on possible aid elements involved were made available, the Commission would be in a
better position to examine the matter in the light of the state aid provisions in the EC Treaty.

(98/C 82/84)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2217/97

by Jesu·s Cabezo·n Alonso (PSE) to the Commission

(30 June 1997)

Subject: EU-Morocco fisheries agreement

Representatives of the Moroccan Government have announced that they are not intending to renew the current
fisheries agreement with the European Union, as a consequence of which only the Moroccan fleet will be allowed
to continue fishing in the waters concerned.

Does the Commission know whether or not the exclusion of the EU fleet will be extended to other fleets such as
the Russian and Japanese ones?

(98/C 82/85)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2219/97

by Jesu·s Cabezo·n Alonso (PSE) to the Commission

(30 June 1997)

Subject: Cooperation between the European Union and Morocco

Does the Commission believe that the announcement by the Moroccan Government to the effect that it will not
be  renewing  the  current  EU-Morocco  fisheries  agreement  when  it  expires  at  the  end  of  1999  is  linked  to  an
attempt to secure advantages in the agricultural sector during the renegotiation of the cooperation agreement,
which also expires in 1999?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-2217/97 and E-2219/97
given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(18 September 1997)

The fisheries agreement with Morocco has been concluded on a four-year basis as from 1 December 1995, so that
it has been in effect for only about one and a half years. The Commission considers it premature to draw any
conclusions yet about fishing relations with Morocco from 1 December 1999.

Before then, it will be necessary to assess whether the goals to which the two sides committed themselves under
the  current  agreements  have  been  attained  and  to  make  an  evaluation  of  progress  in  their  cooperation  over
fishing, which constitutes a key element in future relations between the Community and Morocco.

On the subject of Morocco’s fisheries agreements with other countries, the Commission has no information about
the intentions of the Moroccan authorities regarding renewal of them.

On the subject of the Euro-Mediterranean agreement establishing an association between the Community and its
Member States on the one hand and Morocco on the other, the Commission would like to point out that it has
been concluded for an unlimited period. However, it is true that the Community and Morocco have committed
themselves to examining, after 1 January 2000, the situation in trade in agricultural and fishery products with a
view to arriving at greater liberalisation of mutual trade as from 1 January 2001.