Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino would explain her plans to make a fresh effort to break the deadlock in negotiations with Morocco for a new fishing agreement, her spokesman Marco Zatterin said.

Bonino was holding bilateral talks on Thursday with the Spanish and Portuguese fisheries ministers, whose fleets are the most concerned, before flying to Rabat on Friday.

Little progress was expected on driftnet fishing with at least seven countries opposed to a Commission proposal to ban all driftnet fishing in the northeast Atlantic, Baltic and Mediterranean from the end of 1997.

Bonino was expected to outline Commission plans to implement a bilateral fisheries agreement with Canada, which ended a bitter dispute over Greenland halibut (turbot) fishing rights in the North Atlantic.

The bilateral agreement must also be integrated into NAFO rules.

The EU has not yet fully utilised its 1995 Greenland halibut quota, according to the Commission.

Spanish and Portuguese vessels have caught 2,450 tonnes of Greenland halibut since agreement was reached with Canadaon April 15.

Under the agreement, the EU was allowed to take 5,013 tonnes during the rest of 1995. Officials said the quota would not be officially allocated between Spanish and Portuguese vessels this year but the 1996 allocation would be based on catches this year.

The EU has taken 7,800 tonnes, of which 7,020 by Spanish vessels, since the start of the year.