Brussels, 08/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - After European Parliament endorsement in mid-February, the Council gave its final go-ahead, with the adoption of two decisions on Thursday 8 March, to the mutual free trade agreement for the trade in agricultural products between the EU and Morocco, signed in December 2010. The agreement will take effect two months after it is finally approved by both sides.
Terms and conditions. The EU-Morocco agreement provides for the immediate liberalisation of trade for 45% of EU exports - a share that will rise to 70% after a ten-year transitional period - and 55% of imports from Morocco. It also provides for an entry price system and tariff quotas for sensitive European products (especially tomatoes), and safeguard measures to be applied if Moroccan imports cause problems on the European market. Tinned products, most fruit and vegetables (apart from beans, almonds and apples), cereals (except soft wheat and durum wheat) and most dairy products (apart from UHT milk and full milk powder) from the EU will be fully liberalised within ten years. Tariff quotas for products that are not liberalised (meat, cured products, soft wheat and olive oil) will also be the subject of an increase. Imports of most sensitive Moroccan products onto the European market (tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, courgettes, clementines and strawberries) will not be fully liberalised, but tariff quotas will be increased while the entry price system will be maintained.
Alain Juppé - Europe is willing to go further. The day before his visit to Morocco, on 8 March, the French foreign minister, Alain Juppé, had reaffirmed his support for a comprehensive free trade agreement, saying that relations between the EU and its Mediterranean partner should “set an example and serve as a model” to follow. “It is with Morocco that the EU has signed one of its oldest association agreements. It is Morocco that, to date, has been the only country to benefit from advanced status among the EU's Mediterranean partners”, Juppé explained during an interview with the press agency, MAP. “Today, Europe is willing to go further”, added Juppé, saying: “We want the EU, other than the institutions, to be able in time to share everything with Morocco.” He explained that the agricultural agreement is already “a major first step”. On the subject of the fisheries agreement with Morocco that was rejected by the European Parliament, the minister played down the incident, saying: “This is a very specific case. However, we have managed to have a new negotiating brief given to the European Commission so that a new agreement may be negotiated as soon as possible”, he concluded. (EH/transl.jl)