WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2712/97 by Bárbara DÜHRKOP DÜHRKOP to the Commission. Compliance with the fisheries Agreement with Morocco and boarding of vessels
Date: 1997-07-28
Institutions: DUEHRKOP DUEHRKOP, European Parliament
Subjects: Commission Delegation, European Commission, Morocco, Spain, administrative cooperation, exchange of information, fishing agreement, fishing rights, ship's flag

C 102/100

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

3. 4. 98

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(14 October 1997)

The Commission wishes to point out to the honourable Members of Parliament that Resolution A-4-0317/96 does
not  invite  it  to  prepare  a  communication  on  its  policy  with  regard  to  the  cross-border  consumer  information
centres.

However, the Commission wishes to recall that on 24 July 1997 it transmitted to Parliament a study carried out by
an independent consultant to evaluate the centres’ pilot projects.

The Commission intends to prepare a proposal on a legal basis for the subsidies which will also cover the Euro
infocentres. This proposal will be presented before the end of the year.

(98/C 102/145)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2712/97

by Ba·rbara Du¤hrkop Du¤hrkop (PSE) to the Commission

(28 July 1997)

Subject: Compliance with the fisheries Agreement with Morocco and boarding of vessels

Since the fisheries Agreement between the Community and Morocco was signed in May 1995, there have been
17 cases in which Spanish vessels operating in Moroccan fishing grounds have been boarded. Senior officials
responsible for the Community fleet maintain that such boarding is, more often than not, the result of arbitrary
action and that fishing is taking place in a situation of intolerable uncertainty as to the legal position.

When  a  vessel  has  been  boarded,  do  the  Moroccan  authorities  invariably  inform  the  Commission  within
48 hours, as they are required to do under the fisheries Agreement?

Does the list of vessels boarded held at the Spanish Consulate in Agadir (1) tally with the information in the
Commission(cid:146)s possession?

What  does  the  Commission  think  of  the  monitoring  and  detection  system  used  by  Moroccan  surveillance
vessels? Does it offer technical guarantees? Does it conform to approved international standards?

To what extent does the Commission believe that the fisheries Agreement with Morocco is being observed?

(1)  El Pa(cid:14)·s, 23.7.1997, p. 48.

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(22 September 1997)

Since the entry into force of the new fisheries Agreement between Morocco and the Community the Moroccan
authorities generally inform the Commission Delegation in Rabat within 48 hours as required under Chapter VIII
of Annex II to the Agreement.

The information held by the Spanish Consul in Agadir is not fully comprehensive and covers only events taking
place in a part of Morocco’s waters and cannot, therefore, be compared with that in the Commission’s possession.

The Commission has at all times demanded that the Moroccan authorities comply fully with the requirements
applicable under the Agreement as regards the boarding of Community fishing vessels authorized to operate in
Morocco’s fishing zone, the aim being to ensure that owners of Community fishing vessels are able to exercise
their rights.

In the light of the recent boardings, however, the Commission has asked that the Joint Committee provided for in
the Agreement should meet not in December, as was originally planned, but at the end of September, looking into
possible ways of improving procedures where a vessel is boarded and ensuring the utmost transparency and flow
of information.

The  Commission  regards  the  implementation  of  the  fisheries  Agreement  with  Morocco  as  satisfactory.  The
utilization  of  fishing  opportunities  between  December  1995  and  June  1997  was  very  high  for  most  types  of
fishing and the Commission remains committed to improving administrative cooperation between both parties to
the Agreement.