The EU Commission has decided to tighten the rope on Morocco over the proceeds come from fisheries off occupied Western Sahara, but Commissioner Maria Damanaki underlines that some activities do benefit the people there. In her statement she made a clear answer to a question from Isabella Lövin, a Swedish Green member of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee. Western Sahara, originally a Spanish colony, has been occupied by Morocco since 1975. The UN Security Council adopted a peace plan in 1991, but little has happened since, and few nations have recognised Morocco’s sovereignty claim as legitimate.
In 2006 a controversial fisheries agreement between the European Union and Morocco happened, which provides for the benefits to be transferred to the West Saharan people, 160,000 of which living in refugee camps since more than 30 years. Experts criticizes this saying that there is no proof that such has been the case, and the European Parliament’s legal experts found last February that the agreement was contrary to international law.
Damanaki shas assured the Saharan people that the Commission has asked for detailed information on the subject, expected to be delivered “by the first quarter of 2010” (ending on March 31). She told that in any case, the Commission would like to underline that some activities of the sector support programme do benefit the people of Western Sahara, notably in the area of support to professional training.
