European Parliament rejects EU fisheries

The EU fisheries in Western Sahara have today been voted down in the European Parliament. Reports made for the European Commission have shown that the EU fisheries in Western Sahara are a complete waste of EU taxpayers’ money, and contribute to destruction of marine life offshore Western Sahara. EU fleet must now return from Western Sahara.

Published 14 December 2011

Today’s plenary vote in the European Parliament, over EU fisheries in Western Sahara, took place around 11:30 today. 

The parliament was voting over whether to accept the 1 year extension of the EU fisheries in Western Sahara. The extension was approved by a tiny minority in the Council of Ministers this spring, as the former 2007-2011 agreement expired in March. 

Reports done for the European Commission have showed that the EU fisheries in Western Sahara are a complete waste of EU’s taxpayers money, and contribute to destruction of marine life offshore Western Sahara. In addition, the Parliament’s own legal service had already concluded that the agreement is in violation of international law, since Western Sahara is not part of Morocco, and the people of the territory have never approved the fisheries 

This autumn, both the parliament’s Budget Committee and the Development Committee recommended that the fisheries be stopped. In the Fisheries Committee, the rapporteur Carl Haglund from Finland also recommended a rejection. However, a small minority of the fisheries committee managed to change the conclusion of the Haglund report so it appeared in favour instead of rejecting the agreement. 

The vote today, was over whether to approve or reject the changed and nonsensical Haglund report which had been amended to accept the controversial fisheries. 

The result was that 326 voted against the report, thus demanding the fisheries to stop. 

296 parliamentarians, mostly following the Spanish fishing interests, voted in favour of the Haglund report. A number also abstained.

The consequence is that the EU fleet has to immediately stop fisheries in Western Sahara and return home from the occupied territories of Western Sahara. 

Spanish fisheries interests are already trying to push for a new and illegal 4 year fisheries agreement in the occupied waters from beginning of 2012. Morocco has lobbied hard for the continuation of the fisheries offshore the territory it illegally occupied in 1975.

Western Sahara Resource Watch has since 2006 been working to stop the EU fisheries in the occupied Western Sahara.

WSRW partner's office firebombed

The arson appears to be politically motivated, with anti-Western Sahara, pro-Morocco graffiti spray-painted in front of the office of the NGO Global Aktion in Copenhagen, Denmark.
 

13 January 2025

These firms want to supply Morocco with energy from occupied land

GE Vernova, Siemens Energy and Larsen & Toubro are among the multinationals that have reportedly expressed interest to aid Morocco transport energy generated in occupied Western Sahara to Morocco proper.

04 December 2024

Macron sending French companies into deep waters

At a time when the French government is ignoring all international law in Western Sahara, it places its own companies in serious risk, WSRW warns. 

20 November 2024

Ryanair announces flights to occupied territory

The Irish airline has announced a new route to Dakhla in “Morocco”, praising the occupying power for its ”support and vision in securing this major investment".

19 November 2024