Brussels — Legal advice stating that European vessels have no justification to fish off Western Sahara – a territory occupied by Morocco – has provoked a row between the main political institutions in Brussels.
Under the terms of a 2005 fishing agreement between the European Union (EU) and Morocco, boats may operate in Western Sahara, provided their activity benefits the indigenous Sahrawi people. But a new paper written by lawyers advising the European Parliament has found that there is no evidence of Sahrawis being aided due to the accord’s implementation, which began in 2007.
The paper advocates that efforts should be made to find an “amicable settlement” under which the Sahrawis can actually derive benefits from the agreement. But if no such settlement is forthcoming, it urges that European boats should be forbidden from entering a 200 nautical mile zone off Western Sahara.
Despite these findings, the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, is refusing to concede that the agreement has been problematic. An EU fisheries official said the Commission is “convinced” the deal is “indirectly and directly benefiting the Western Sahara region.”
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