evidence: The EU-Morocco is further defined by the interests of several member-states, most notably Spain, the territory’s former coloniser. Spain possesses Europe’s largest fishing fleet, which has traditionally harvested the rich fish stocks off the North African coast; the country also holds two urban enclaves on the Moroccan coast, Melilla and Ceuta, thus requiring good relations with Rabat in order to avoid international crisis. Such a dispute is not unlikely; in 2002 the uninhabited Spanish-held Perejil Island was subject to invasion by Moroccan forces, which withdrew only after military pressure from Spain. A deterioration in relations with Rabat would spell diplomatic disaster for Spain (and by extension the EU), impacting not only the contentious issue of sovereignty over the Spanish Plazas de soberanía along the North African coast, but also Europe’s relationship with a key neighbourhood partner.