IP/95/857

The fishery agreements between the Union and Morocco in force since 1989, the last of which expired on 30 April this year, stipulated in the trade field that sardine preparations and preserves originating in Morocco were to be imported into the Union on more advantageous terms than envisaged in the cooperation agreement of 1976 between the Community and Morocco.

The fact that the fishery agreement has still not been renewed means a return to the import regulations contained in the earlier cooperation agreement, which was designed to maintain traditional trade flows between Morocco and the Union. In detail, these regulations involve annual tariff quotas of 14 000 tonnes at 0% and 6000 tonnes at 10% compared with the customs duty of 22.5% normally applicable in respect of non-member countries (as a reminder, the fishery agreement provided for 14 000 t at 0% and 6 000 t to 6%).

The proposal for a Regulation that the Commission has approved today restores the old quota arrangements for the period from 1 May to 31 December 1995. In this connection, from the 14 000 and 6 000 tonnes respectively have been deducted the quantities already imported during the first four months of this year. Consequently the quotas are 8 750 t at 0% and 3 750 t at 10%.