RABAT, Sept 6 (Reuter) - Morocco stands ready to resume

talks with the European Union (EU) on a new fisheries accord but

wants a firm gesture that the EU will negotiate on the basis of

Moroccan proposals, an official source said on Wednesday.

The source was reacting to a statement by the European

Commission in Brussels that it was ready to resume negotiations

on an elusive deal on the EU's most important external fisheries

agreement.

"Morocco has always said that it will resume negotiations

when the EU makes a positive gesture," the official source said.

"What we want is a tangible sign that they will negotiate on the

basis of what Morocco has proposed. We are still waiting for

this gesture of goodwill."

Talks on a three-year fishing accord collapsed without

agreement in Brussels last week after Morocco rejected the EU's

final offer on the extent of quota limits it would accept in a

new deal.

Morocco, citing scientific data about the state of its fish

stocks, was demanding a 65 percent cut in catches of squid and

octopus. The EU offered a 25 percent cut over three years.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino angered Rabat when she

said she would propose that the EU review its wider relations

with Morocco.

The source, who did not want to be identified, said

Morocco's position remained unchanged and cited a foreign

ministry statement issued after the talks ended in acrimony last

month.

The government said at the time that threats would not force

it into submission, although it indicated it did not want a

total rupture with its biggest export market.

The previous three-year accord, which expired in April,

granted the mainly-Spanish EU fishing fleet 730 licences to fish

in its Atlantic waters.

No date has been set for the resumption of talks. The

previous accord earned Morocco $130 million a year in licence

fees and preferential tariffs for exports of tinned sardines.