Brussels, 22/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Morocco is looking for a “new neighbourhood plan, which draws its inspiration from the action plans adopted by the pre-accession countries” to be put in place with the EU, the minister delegate at the Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Ministry Youssef Amrani said on Monday 21 May, following a meeting with Polish Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Jerzy Pomianowski. The Moroccan minister referred explicitly to the example of Poland in its relations with the EU in 2004.
“While, for the EU, the European neighbourhood policy (ENP) worked well with Morocco in 2011, the EU-Morocco partnership still remains limited.” He said that, from the Moroccan point of view, “there are weaknesses in the level of trade which is of greater benefit to the EU and in mobility, particularly for men, from Morocco to the 27 member states of the EU, where administrative formalities have only slightly improved. Nor must we forget the efforts to be made in negotiations in trade in services, the right of establishment and the gradual alignment of Morocco with the EU in the areas of health and plant health - all in anticipation of a deep and comprehensive free-trade agreement.”
The aim is, he said, “to become part of and take part in the European economic area”. He told official press agency MAP that Morocco wants to “go beyond the association agreement and explore all the possibilities with Europe that can develop new governance in the Mediterranean region”. (FB/transl.rt)