Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - Strasbourg

Explanation of vote:

Relazione: Carl Haglund (A7-0394/2011)

Pino Arlacchi (S&D ), in writing . − I voted against the extension of the EU-Morocco fisheries partnership agreement for several reasons. The first is that we are facing a clear violation of international law. Morocco is selling the natural resource of an occupied territory. According to the basics of international law, it would be able to do so only if the agreement were in accordance with the benefits and wishes of the local Saharawi people. The Moroccan Government has failed to show any such benefits or wishes. In addition to that, of all the EU’s ongoing bilateral agreements, the deal with Morocco is the worst.

The rapporteur of the recommendation, along with an independent evaluation produced by the Commission, plus the opinions of the Development and Budget Committees and the assessment of authoritative UN experts concur that the agreement is a waste of taxpayers’ money, it is ecologically and environmentally unsustainable and it has no significant macroeconomic effect on either the EU or Morocco. For all these reasons I strongly believe that extending this agreement undermines the EU’s credibility as a defender of international law and as an impartial and equal institution.

[source:www.europarl.europa.eu]