BRUSSELS, May 31 (Reuter) - The European Commission will present counter-proposals to Morocco on fish catch quotas in a fifth bid to conclude a new fisheries agreement, a Commission spokesman said on Wednesday. The spokesman said the new round of talks, which start in Rabat on Thursday, will continue until there is an agreement.
"We are playing to win this time," the spokesman quoted EU fisheries commissioner Emma Bonino as saying. "Talks will continue until we get an agreement."
Morocco has made excessive demands for sharp cuts in catches of sardines, hake, octopus and shrimps and a greater share of landings in its ports, he added.
The Commission, which negotiates for the EU, will make specific proposals for each species of fish and type of fishing vessel.
But Spanish sources were sceptical of a deal saying EU and Moroccan positions were still far apart and more talks would be needed.
The Spanish fleet, which was forced to leave Moroccan fishing grounds after the previous EU-Morocco fisheries accord expired at the end of April, held 650 of the 730 EU licences.
Spanish fishermen, angered by the prospect of drastic cuts in catches in the new agreement, have been blockading imports of fish from Morocco in the southern port of Algeciras.
The last round of talks ended on June 1 after the EU and Morocco avoided the question of fish quotas - the toughest issue - until after Spanish elections on May 28.
EU officials said the Commission could now push for an accord, adding that Bonino had cleared the negotiating position with Spanish fisheries minister Luis Atienza on Monday.
The Moroccan agreement is the EU's most important fisheries deal providing a livelihood for 28,000 fishermen and fish processors in southern Spain, the Canary islands and Portugal.
