Brussels, 20/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - On 19 November, in Rabat, Morocco and the EU signed two funding conventions, one for the support programme for Action Plan III and the other for the programme to support the Equity and Reconciliation II body, for a total of DH 310 million (€28 million).
The first programme constitutes the third implementation phase for the association agreement aimed at rapprochement between the economic, administrative and technical structures of Morocco and those of the EU, as stipulated in the agreement for granting advanced status. “It is time to step up the work of partnership between the EU and Morocco. The challenge at the heart of the advanced status process calls for things to be speeded up, cooperation axes to be consolidated and development strategies to be set in place in a harmonised manner within a well identified time frame”, affirmed the Commission delegation in Rabat, whose head of mission, Eneko Landaburu, signed two funding conventions on behalf of the EU.
The second project funded extends a first programme initiated in 2007 which, according to the official European source in Rabat, aims to create a national institutional framework responsible for the policy of collection, inventories and safekeeping of archives, and strengthening scientific research on the history of the independent Morocco and improving policies for safeguarding National Memory. (F.B./transl.jl)