EU response to Moroccan offer, no grounds for balanced partnership, minister says

The European Union response to the Moroccan offer made in Brussels does not translate commitment by the two sides to reach a new and balanced partnership, said Morocco's fishery minister Said Chbaatou.

The minister said it was unfortunate to say the response was neither seeking balanced cooperation nor answering the goodwill the kingdom displayed. Morocco, indeed, had made it clear the 1995-99 fishing agreement was the last one because resources could no longer stand the pressure and the Moroccan sector was severely affected.

Chabaatou questioned EU's will to carry on contacts for the balanced partnership the two sides had called for on October 16 during the visit of the agriculture and fishery commissioner Franz Fischler.

A new round of fishery talks is slated for November 21 in Brussels.

Meantime, The European Communities Commission ambassador to Rabat Lucio Guerrato said mutual concessions are necessary to reach a compromise between the kingdom and EU on fisheries.

Ways to make progress on the issue must be found, he told 2M television channel Sunday evening summing up the stalemate. While Morocco sees concessions as "extremely limited and temporary," the European Union wants "a little wider and generous" concessions, he said.

The lack of agreement with Morocco is a cause of tension within the Union because of Spanish pressures, he pointed insisting the issue remains a priority for Brussels which hosts a meeting of the European Council on fisheries next Friday.