The fisheries agreement between Morocco and the EU, covering waters offshore Western Sahara, should be terminated. This was requested by representatives of the ERC in the Spanish parliament today.
Two representatives of the Spanish party ERC, Mr. Joan Ridao and Joan Tardà, today presented in the Spanish Parliament's Joint Commission for the EU a proposition for a motion that the EU-Moroccan fisheries agreement be halted.
The proposition requests that the Spanish government, especially during the Spanish EU precidency starting at 1 January, sets as a precondition that fisheries in Western Sahara should not be renegotiated as long as the conflict has not yet been settled.
The text furthermore urges the Spanish government "to defend in the EU the fact that the Government of Morocco is illegitimately negotiating the exploitation of resources in occupied Western Sahara".
Both chambers in the Spanish Parliament have corresponding Committees for all issues. But for EU issues, in order to have one voice, there is Joint Committee in the parliament.
The story below appeared in SERVIMEDIA today, 8 Dec 2009:
SÁHARA. ERC PIDE QUE EL ACUERDO DE PESCA UE-MARRUECOS DEPENDA DE UNA SOLUCIÓN PACÍFICA AL CONFLICTO DEL SÁHARA
Los diputados de Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) Joan Ridao y Joan Tardà han presentado una proposición no de ley sobre la explotación de los recursos pesqueros de los saharauis, en la que piden que la negociación del acuerdo de pesca entre la Unión Europea y Marruecos se supedite a una "solución pacífica del conflicto con el Sáhara Occidental".
La proposición, a la que tuvo acceso Servimedia, fue registrada a través del Grupo Parlamentario ERC-IU-ICV para su debate en la Comisión Mixta para la Unión Europea.
La proposición insta al Gobierno a "defender ante la Unión Europea la ilegitimidad del Gobierno de Marruecos para negociar sobre la explotación de los recursos del Sáhara Occidental ocupado".
Además, le pide que defienda ante la Unión Europea, y especialmente durante la Presidencia española, "el condicionamiento de la negociación del acuerdo de pesca de la Unión Europea con Marruecos a la solución pacífica del conflicto con el Sáhara Occidental".
También insta al Gobierno a defender ante la Unión Europea "la necesidad de dialogar con los representantes de la República Árabe Saharaui Democrática para intentar lograr un acuerdo legitimado por el pueblo saharaui que permita la explotación de sus recursos pesqueros".
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