Brussels, 05/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - At the end of June, the EU and Morocco held a second round of negotiations to conclude a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement (DCFTA). The talks progressed well, according to the Moroccan chief negotiator, El Aïd Mahsoussi, the secretary general for foreign trade, who was quoted by the media in his country.
Market access, which is already in the bag for industrial products as part of the association agreement (additional agreements were signed to govern agricultural trade), is not the objective of the DCFTA negotiations. These aim at bringing regulations a good deal closer together so as to integrate Morocco gradually into the single European market. “We want a progression that is bearable for our country”, El Aïd Mahsoussi told the weekly publication, l'Economiste.
L'Economiste picks up on the statements of Morocco's ambassador to Brussels, Menouar Alem, according to whom Morocco “is not starting from scratch and did not wait to go ahead in transposing a number of Community regulations into Moroccan domestic law”. In many agreements (including agricultural, air, and the partnership for mobility), Morocco has already integrated a number of European standards. “Like, for example, in the sectors on public procurement, financial services or air transport”, said the head of the Moroccan mission.
During this second round of negotiations, it was decided to integrate services into the ongoing negotiation. The negotiations started in 2008 but Rabat has only been committing itself cautiously. (FB/transl.fl)