EU Parliament wants fisheries agreement with Libya to fish its ‘‘rich in fish stock’’ waters in lieu of the aid the EU has granted Libya

By Sami Zaptia.

London, 12 October 2019:

The European Union Parliament has issued a resolution calling on the EU Commission to agree on a fisheries partnership agreement between the European Union and Libya and on cooperation between EU and Libyan fishermen.

Published on 9 October but dated 30 September, the statement says in view of the ‘‘ongoing civil war war, Libyan waters are being fished far less and this maritime area is now very rich in fish stocks’’ and in view of the fact that ‘‘the EU provides Libya with a considerable amount of financial support, chiefly through the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) and the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP), and whereas to date around EUR 103 million has already been disbursed to support Libyans in fields relating to governance, health, civil society, youth and education, as well as a further EUR 44 million delivered since 2014 for humanitarian assistance’’

The EU Parliament ‘‘calls on the Commission, in light too of the economic support already granted to Libya, to negotiate a fisheries partnership agreement that will enable EU fishermen to have legal and safe access to the fishing area over which Libya has jurisdiction and will at the same time foster steps for cooperation between EU and Libyan fishermen’’.