WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1464/99 by Daniel VARELA SUANZES- CARPEGNA EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement
C 27 E/80 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 29. 1. 2000 Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (11 October 1999) The Commission had not been aware of the facts mentioned by the Honourable Member. The Commission will make the contacts needed in order to obtain all of the details concerning that situation and to establish that Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the impact of certain public and private projects on the environment (1) has been properly implemented. The Commission will duly inform the Honourable Member of the outcome of the action taken. (1) OJ L 175, 5. 7. 1985, as amended by Directive 97/11/EC, OJ L 73, 14. 3. 1999. (2000/C 27 E/098) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1464/99 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement (1 September 1999) The current EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement, which is of great importance for the Community fishing industry and has a major impact on employment, particularly in less-favoured European regions highly dependent on fishing, is about to expire. Can the Commission say what budgetary allocation it will set aside to finance the new agreement 1. which may eventually be concluded? Can the Commission provide information on the timetable drawn up by the Kingdom of Morocco 2. and the composition and rank of the Community delegation? 3. Bearing in mind the importance of bilateral trade and financial relations between the EU and Morocco, what other Directorates-General will be involved in the negotiations on a new agreement alongside DG XIV? Can the Commission say what funds the EU has assigned to Morocco under the MEDA cooperation 4. programme in the course of 1999 and what funds it plans to allocate in the future? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (4 October 1999) 1. The Council, at a first reading, entered 125 million € as a reserve, the same amount as for the agreement in force. In view of the uncertainty regarding the form of cooperation with Morocco as regards fishing and the very high and very variable costs involved, the Commission considers the inclusion of this amount in the budget to be appropriate. In line with the progress of the negotiations, the Commission will update this amount in accordance with the budgetary procedures in force. 2. and 3. The Commission was authorised by the Council at its meeting on 10 June 1999 to start exploratory contacts with the Moroccan authorities aimed at seeking and developing together new mechanisms for cooperation in the fisheries sector which would be advantageous to the two parties. The Commission immediately, in June, sent a letter to the Moroccan authorities requesting the beginning of the exploratory contacts. The Moroccan authorities answered on 9 July 1999, stating their willingness to hold a meeting to start discussions between the two parties after 15 September 1999. The detailed timetable for the meetings will be drawn up as soon as the first exploratory contacts are started. The negotiations for a new fisheries agreement will be conducted by the Commission acting as an institution. 4. With regard to cooperation with Morocco within the framework of partnership, 176 million €. the Euro-Mediterranean the Commission has planned projects and programmes in 1999 for an amount of