Andalusia Warns EU Court’s Morocco Ruling Severely Harms Its Fishing Fleet

Doha – The regional government of Andalusia, Spain has sounded the alarm that the decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to annul trade agreements between the EU and Morocco in the areas of fisheries and agriculture will “severely harm” the Andalusian fishing fleet.

The ruling specifically impacts 45 Andalusian vessels that operate using purse seine nets and small-scale fishing methods, most of which are based in the Gulf of Cádiz.

According to Spanish media reports, Ramón Fernández Pacheco, the Andalusian Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, explained that the main fishing grounds used by this Andalusian fleet under the agreement are off the northern coast of Morocco, far from the Western Sahara waters that were the focus of the court case.

He urged for negotiations to resume “as soon as possible” to reach “a new agreement that does not harm the Andalusian fleet,” which has seen its fishing possibilities “greatly diminished” by now having to operate only in Spanish national waters.

The Andalusian government expects Spain’s central government to be “proactive and take action” within the relevant EU institutions on this matter.

Minister Fernández Pacheco plans to make this one of his requests at a meeting scheduled for Monday in Madrid with the Secretary General of Fisheries.

“The Andalusian government will collaborate in everything within our power to find a solution,” Fernández Pacheco assured, while expressing the regional administration’s “total support” for a sector, especially in the Gulf of Cádiz, “that continues to receive new setbacks.”

Nicolás Fernández, manager of the Conil Artisanal Fishermen’s Association (OPP72), pointed out that the ruling shows “you cannot have agreements where small-scale fleets and purse seine fleets in northern Morocco and the Strait of Gibraltar are affected by other issues that have nothing to do with it.”

He noted the decision “obviously has a negative impact on the fleet in Andalusia, with a particular effect on the small-scale fleets of the Strait of Gibraltar and the purse seine fleets of Cádiz province, very notably impacting Conil and the port of Barbate.”

The CJEU ruling on Friday annulled the EU-Morocco agreements on agricultural and fishery products, as well as a fishing protocol, after the Polisario Front, which claims to represent the people of Western Sahara, filed a complaint in 2019 alleging the deals were applied to Western Sahara without the consent of the Sahrawi people.

Morocco has accused the court of “blatant political bias,” arguing it contains “obvious legal errors and suspicious factual mistakes.” The North African nation reiterated it will not accept any agreement that does not respect its territorial integrity.

The EU, while saying it will assess the ruling, emphasized that it attaches “high value” to its “long-standing, wide-ranging and deep” strategic partnership with Morocco, which it intends to preserve and strengthen. Spain has echoed this, with its Agriculture Minister Luis Planas stressing the “positive and stable” ties will continue regardless of the court decision.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares also reaffirmed his country’s unwavering support for Morocco, stating that “this is where Spain stands, and where we will continue to be.”