Written answers

Tuesday, 16 April 2019

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Foreign Conflicts

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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89. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with his European counterparts with regard to complaints by Western Sahara about abuse by Morocco of its fishing waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17632/19]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Complaints by groups from Western Sahara in relation to the issue of fishing in Western Sahara have been discussed by EU Member States on a number of occasions, and in a number of settings, in recent years.

The EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement was concluded in 2006, and entered into force the following year. Following a legal challenge, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment in February 2018 determining that the existing fisheries agreement and the protocol implementing the agreement were not applicable to the waters adjacent to the territory of Western Sahara.

In April 2018, the Council of the European Union authorised the European Commission to begin negotiations to amend the fisheries agreement and its associated protocol with a view to providing a legal basis to grant preferences to products originating in Western Sahara. As part of this process, the European Commission and the European External Action Service conducted a wide-ranging consultation process with key stakeholders from Western Sahara. This process concluded that, while some parties objected to an agreement in principle, a majority favoured a new fisheries agreement. The consultation also found that a new agreement would be economically beneficial to local people in the region. Following those negotiations, a new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, and a new Implementation Protocol were initialled, which the European Parliament and Council have since adopted.

In its discussions with EU partners, Ireland consistently emphasised the need for any agreement to be consistent with the judgment of the Court of Justice. My Department has received assurances from the Council Legal Service of the EU that the new agreement respects both international law and the Court of Justice's judgment.

I must stress that the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Morocco is entirely without prejudice to the position of the EU on Western Sahara. In other words, there is nothing in the terms of the agreement or its protocol which would imply EU recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty or sovereign rights over Western Sahara and the adjacent waters.

Ireland and the EU continue to recognise the United Nation’s classification of Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory. Ireland supports the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, but does not have a view on the outcome of that decision, be it independence, integration, autonomy, or some other solution – so long as it is decided in a genuine exercise of self-determination.

Ireland and the EU fully support the ongoing UN efforts to assist the parties in reaching a lasting political resolution to the dispute. I welcome the second UN-mediated roundtable meeting on Western Sahara that was held last month in Geneva. This is as a very positive step by all parties, and I hope that it will lead to the renewal of the negotiations process. This is the only path towards a sustainable resolution of the conflict which is mutually acceptable, and provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

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