A delegation from the European Union (EU) arrived over the weekend to resume talks with the Angolan government on renewing an accord allowing some 67 European boats to fish tuna and other species in Angolan waters.
This is second EU attempt to find a common ground with Angola, after the first move in December flopped, as Luanda insists on the participation of local enterprises in the talks. The failure was mainly due to Angola's push for EU partners to accept its legislation advocating the majority participation of Angolan firms in the partnership accords. But EU has rejected this demand, noting that the legislation in question was yet to come into force in Angola.
The previous accord expired in August 2004 and since then the 67 European trawlers, mostly Spanish-owned, are docked in Angolan waters awaiting further notice. If the talks deadlock, EU will lose another important fishing partner in Africa, after Morocco declined to renew its accord with the European bloc.