Representatives of Guinea-Bissau and the European Union (EU) are meeting in Brussels on Monday for a new round of negotiations on the next fishing agreement the EU will have with the country, according to the local press.
This new round, which runs until Wednesday, is the fourth since the end of March that the parties have held without reaching an understanding on the format of the new agreement.
Guinea Bissau’s Fisheries Minister Orlando Viegas said at the end of the third round earlier this month that the differences of opinion in the process lie in the model each party intends to give to the new agreement, according to the report published in Jornal de Angola.
The proposals put forward by the Guinean authorities require an increase of rates compared with what the EU has been paying for the rights to explore the Exclusive Economic Zone’s fishing resources.
With these demands, Guinea-Bissau is trying get the same treatment from the EU as accorded to the least developed countries, especially in West Africa, when it comes to fisheries exploration agreements, with the example of the fisheries agreement signed with Mauritania in 2016.
The third meeting, held on 1 and 2 June in Lisbon, ended without any agreement between the parties.
In the event of the signing of a new agreement, this agreement will become effective as of November and be valid for five years, compared to the three years initially expected. (macauhub).
