MEPs, Lidia Senra and Estefania Torres, from the Confederation Group of the European United Left and the Podemos respectively, urged on Thursday the European Union to exclude the Western Sahara waters from its fisheries agreement concluded with Morocco and which is expected to expire on the 14th of July 2018, reports EFE. «The EU must exclude Western Sahara from its next agreement with Morocco», demanded Estefania Torres. The MEP also called the European Union to sign an agreement with Western Sahara , «which must legally control its waters, as recognized by the Court of Justice and the European Union (CJEU) in its recent ruling». Estefania Torres said she was «convinced» that the interests of the fishermen (mainly from Galicia, Andalusia and the Canaries) who operate in these waters «are perfectly compatible with those of the Saharawi people». «It is necessary to apply the verdict [of CJEU] unambiguously,» said Lidia Senra, which would assume «the departure of all European boats operating in Saharawi waters under this fisheries agreement.» «This ruling is another proof for the Sahrawi people. The agreement is valid but it is not applicable to Western Sahara», she added. For the record, the CJEU ruled on Tuesday, 27th of February, that the fisheries agreement concluded between the Kingdom and the European Union is valid since it does not include the adjacent waters of the disputed region of Western Sahara. 90% of the European fleet's catches under this agreement come for these waters, said EFE.
