The European Parliament has approved the renewal of fisheries agreements between the European Union and both the Cook Islands and São Tomé and Príncipe, allowing Spanish, French and Portuguese vessels to keep operating in waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.
The two protocols, endorsed in plenary on May 20, 2026, will secure access for European tuna boats and surface longliners in exchange for financial contributions that are also intended to support the sustainable management of local marine resources.
In the case of the Cook Islands agreement, MEPs gave their consent by 476 votes in favour, 101 against and 74 abstentions. The protocol allows four European tuna seiners — three Spanish and one French — to operate in waters of the Pacific archipelago until December 2032.
In return for access, the EU will pay an annual contribution of €460,000, of which €165,000 is earmarked for access rights and €295,000 will support local fisheries policy. Shipowners must additionally cover licence fees and catch-related payments.
“The agreement is important both for European fishing vessels operating in the area and for strengthening ties with the Cook Islands. The geopolitical situation of the area is an important reason for the European Union to maintain strong partnerships with Pacific partner countries,” said Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) MEP and rapporteur Oihane Agirregoitia.
Agirregoitia also warned of growing Chinese influence in the region and argued that the EU should reinforce its alliances in the area to maintain its strategic presence and consolidate what she described as a rules-based model of maritime governance.
During the same plenary session, the Parliament also approved by 545 votes to 89, with 15 abstentions, the renewal of the fisheries protocol with São Tomé and Príncipe. That agreement will run until 2029 and allows 26 tuna seiners — 15 Spanish and 11 French — and nine surface longliners — seven Spanish and two Portuguese — to operate in waters of the West African nation.
The deal sets an annual catch quota of 6,500 tonnes of tuna and other migratory species. In exchange, the EU will provide an annual contribution of €825,000, split between €325,000 for access rights and €500,000 to support the local fishing sector.
Shipowners will also pay a fee of €85 per tonne of fish caught. Both protocols have been applied provisionally since late 2025, following the expiry of the previous conventions, and form part of the sustainable fisheries partnership agreements that the European Commission pursues with non-EU countries.
The dual approval was passed in a single day in Strasbourg and confirms a strategy that Brussels has pursued for more than a decade, namely to combine commercial access for the European fleet with development support and stock-protection clauses in the partner countries.
