The fisheries committee in the European Parliament on Wednesday voted yes to the renewal of the controversial EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement. 13 MEPs voted in favour, 8 against and 2 abstained.

“All things considered, the protocol will allow fishery relations with Morocco to resume on a fresh basis, much more in keeping with Parliament’s demands both from the economic and financial point of view and in terms of social and environmental sustainability”, said rapporteur Carmen Fraga Estévez (EPP, ES).

However, eight MEPs from the S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL voted against the protocol. They criticised the deal for not respecting international law provisions, as it does not exclude the waters of the Western Sahara coast, also underlining that the Sahrawi population has not been consulted.

The draft report will be submitted to a vote in plenary, scheduled for 10 December 2013.

CFP basic regulation and market regulation formally approved by committee
Fisheries Committee MEPs also voted to formally approve the second reading position of parliament on the basic regulation and the market regulation in the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Council formally adopted their position in October, confirming the political agreement between the Council and Parliament in May. The plenary will vote on the formal adoption of these two regulations in December.