EU Commissioner for Fisheries Maria Damanaki issued a short statement saying that "real and gradual progress is being made".
Sources close to the Commission claim that differences on the financial chapter are the hurdle that remains to be taken.
"It is astounding that the financial part of the accord seems to present a bigger obstacle to the Commission than the risk of backing up an illegal occupation", says Sara Eyckmans, coordinator of Western Sahara Resource Watch. Only three weeks ago, Morocco's Minister for Communication, Mustapha el Khalfi, remarked that agreements that do not separate between Morocco and Western Sahara, prove that the Sahara is in fact Moroccan.
The Spanish government and the Spanish fish sector - the main interested parties for a new agreement - have been lobbying hard for Commissioner Damanaki to come up with a new fisheries regime that is both acceptable to Morocco and to the European Parliament.
In December 2011, the European Parliament repudiated the renewal of the agreement due to concerns on its economic viability, sustainability and legality, in terms of respecting the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
Heidelberg Materials deepens its role in Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara
The German company confirms once again that its operations in occupied Western Sahara are closely tied to Morocco’s infrastructure expansion in the territory - while continuing to dismiss the Saharawi people’s right to consent.
The conflict phosphates - four decades of plunder
For over 40 years, a Moroccan state-owned company has exported phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.
Record low number of importers of Western Sahara phosphates
Only three companies imported phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara in 2025 - the lowest number ever recorded. The findings appear in our annual P for Plunder report, released today.
One of the richest coastlines in the world
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.