Morocco and EU face deadlock over new fisheries agreement

The European Union has expressed readiness to negotiate a new fisheries agreement with Morocco, though no timeline has been established. The European Commission stated it is prepared to begin talks ‘as soon as Morocco is ready,’ noting that the current status of the agreement is ‘dormant.’

The impasse follows legal rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which invalidated previous agreements because they included waters around Western Sahara. Consequently, European fishing fleets—primarily from Spain—have lacked conventional access to Moroccan waters since the previous protocol expired.

Morocco has set a clear condition for any new partnership: any agreement must explicitly include the waters of the Moroccan Sahara and reflect the Kingdom’s strategic interests. This requirement places the burden on the EU to develop a legal framework that respects Moroccan sovereignty while remaining compliant with European judicial rulings. The lack of an agreement continues to place significant economic pressure on Spanish fishing sectors in regions such as Barbate, Conil, and Tarifa.