Brussels, 04/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 1 March, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, made a working visit to Rabat (see EUROPE 10797). During his visit, the go-ahead was given for talks on an in-depth trade agreement, and on a mobility and financial and technical cooperation agreement on human development.
The EU expects Morocco to ensure there is a good pace of reform, consolidated and stabilised democracy and open cooperation, including in the fisheries sector, Barroso said. Going beyond simple bilateral relations, he sketched out clearer lines for a European policy towards a region that is potentially prey to major threats. Political legitimacy must be achieved and merited, he said, unreservedly and warmly welcoming the fact that Morocco had adopted the reformist approach, although he did add that that approach must be comprehensive and consolidated. Barroso went on to say that Morocco spearheads several fields in that region, having already begun a political, economic and social reform process several years ago. These democratic breakthroughs, Barroso said, are also one of the reasons that explain the excellent bilateral relations between the EU and Morocco and the “advanced status” that Morocco enjoys. Their relations are anchored in enhanced political and security cooperation, in a key economic chapter and in intense sector-specific cooperation that ranges from fisheries to agriculture and which has a direct impact on the lives of citizens, he added. In a statement to the press, Barroso affirmed that Morocco holds a very specific place in the EU's new Neighbourhood Policy. He considers the place held by Morocco will provide major and diverse opportunities and that no country of the region has, as things stand, been able to seize those opportunities to the extent that Morocco has.
Barroso went on to affirm the commitment taken by the EU to begin a new stage in relations with Morocco on the basis of the above positive report established during his visit. That new phase will first of all be marked by the launch of negotiations for a new comprehensive and in-depth free trade agreement (ALECA in French), which will promote greater integration of the Moroccan economy in the European single market. Then, on mobility, which is the watchword of Moroccan diplomacy, a political agreement has been reached for the conclusion of a partnership, the broad lines of which are to be specified, Barroso said. He went on to add that negotiations are being launched on an agreement for facilitating visa issuance procedures for certain categories of the public. He felt that, in the longer term, one can but support the development towards full mobility of Moroccan citizens, without having to meet the visa requirement. His suggestion was nonetheless conditional and cautious.
Regarding financial and technical cooperation, Morocco is the main recipient for European support in the region. It is to receive €660 million during the period 2011-2013. That amount will be allocated to supporting economic, social and institutional development, in particular for strengthening the State. At the same time, the EU and Morocco signed, on Friday, a financial memorandum relating to €25 million for the period 2013-2015 to the benefit of the national human development initiative (IDM), focused on the most disadvantaged areas.
President Barroso also evoked regional integration, recalling the EU's commitment taken in favour of the Maghreb. The EU, he said, attaches growing importance to the success of Maghreb cooperation, mainly in order to face the challenges of instability in the Sahel. He commented, however, that this is totally lacking in Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) rhetoric. Morocco seems to be more attentive to the quality of its direct relations with the EU. It was recalled, however, that the EU holds an interest for dialogue by the “5+5” group, an informal dialogue framework between the five countries of the Maghreb and five European countries of the western Mediterranean basin. In an interview with the Moroccan daily, Le Soir, Barroso said it is clear that a purely bilateral approach is not in itself sufficient. (FB/transl.jl)