Approved by the 28 EU member States, without any opposition, this mandate instructs the European Commission to enter into negotiations with Morocco with a view to concluding a fisheries agreement and protocol. The current fisheries protocol expires next July.
The mandate states that the waters off the coast of the Moroccan Sahara will be covered by the fisheries partnership between Morocco and the EU.
The adoption of this negotiating mandate is in line with the joint statement by minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nasser Bourita, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on February 27, 2018, in which both parties "confirmed their commitment to the Strategic Partnership between Morocco and the EU and their determination to preserve and strengthen it".
Negotiations between the two parties should start soon.
News and events on Western Sahara issue/ CORCAS