Brussels, 12/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) last week organised a seminar on trading prospects in the Mediterranean focusing on the case of Morocco, the first country to undertake talks for a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement (DCFTA) with the EU. In a preliminary report, one expert said such an agreement “will, in the long term, allow GDP to increase by €1.3 billion annually for Morocco compared to €1.4 billion for the EU”. The same expert, Koen Berden, who represents Ecorys, a consultancy firm commissioned by the European Commission to draw up a sustainable development impact study for the DCFTA, said the “macro-economic impact of the DCFTA on the Moroccan economy will be positive” and will contribute to improving Morocco's competitive capacity and to promoting growth and employment.
Cited by the Moroccan media, the Moroccan economic and social committee plans to conduct its own impact assessment. The rapporteur for the economic affairs committee, Bachir Rachdi, took the view that “the model for evaluation taken by Ecorys comprises manifest failings compared to the simulations and impact studies and does not take account of all the factors that have an influence” (our translation throughout). It is necessary to take account of the overall impact and not only that of several economic and political players, he said. Rachdi believes the limited impact of these agreements on the Moroccan economy can be explained by factors relating to their method of negotiation and their governance, as well as by Morocco's degree of preparedness for trade liberalisation. (FB/transl.jl)