Deal questioned for letting EQ fishemen work off Western Sahara

EU assembly report questions Morocco fishing deal

EU assembly report questions deal for letting EU fishermen work off disputed Western Sahara


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By Gretchen Mahan, Associated Press Writer , On Tuesday February 23, 2010, 11:59 am EST
BRUSSELS (AP) -- Lawyers urged the EU on Tuesday to review its 2007 fishing accord with Morocco, saying it may be illegal to allow European fishermen to work off disputed Western Sahara.
The report by the EU Parliament's legal service echoed the finding of a 2008 U.N. report that questioned the EU-Morocco fishing deal for the same reason.
The EU pays Morocco about euro40 million ($54 million) a year to let its fishermen work in its waters. But EU vessels are known to work further south, off the Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by Morocco, said the EU report.
It said none of the euro40 million benefits the Saharawi people of Western Sahara, although international law requires that.
The EU has always argued it does not know how Morocco uses the EU funds and therefore cannot consider the deal in breach of international law.

Western Sahara is a territory on North Africa's Atlantic coast. A former Spanish colony, it is claimed by Morocco which fought a war against the Polisario Front guerrillas until the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in 1991.

"The EU is financing Morocco's illegal occupation of Western Sahara," Mohammed Sidati, the Polisario Front's European affairs minister, told reporters.
Eleven EU nations can fish off Morocco.
European Parliament members said they will push the European Commission, the EU executive that signed the fishing agreement, to raise the legality of the deal with Morocco.