Henrik Dam Kristensen, (PSE). – (DA) Mr President, as Western Sahara is not a sovereign state, it is international law that applies to its population. Under international law, this population group has a right to self-determination via its recognised representatives. This means that if an agreement is to be entered into, the population of Western Sahara must be involved and their economic interest must be taken into consideration. The Legal Service of the European Parliament has determined that the agreement is not in contravention of international law as long as the Moroccan authorities provide the population of Western Sahara with economic compensation for the resources taken from their waters. However, nowhere in the agreement does it state that compensation is to be provided. In fact, not once are the people of Western Sahara mentioned, nor have they been involved in the process of entering into agreements.

I do not believe that it is the job of the Committee on Fisheries to solve conflicts between Morocco and Western Sahara, but I do think it is important that international law is obeyed and that the population of Western Sahara does not end up as the loser in this agreement. I therefore also believe it to be important that we vote in favour of those amendments that exclude territory belonging to Western Sahara. If these amendments are adopted, I believe that we could end up with a positive agreement. If not, the agreement will be a bad one.