Brussels, 29/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - The negotiations between the EU and Morocco that were relaunched last week for a mobility agreement (facilitation in the granting of visas and readmission - see EUROPE 11233) have made progress but have not yet come to a successful end. New negotiating sessions will be needed both to address the chapters under discussion in more depth, and to consolidate what has thus far been negotiated - especially on short-term visas.
According to a Moroccan source, the EU has softened its position on the point concerning specific socio-professional categories (students, business people) or particular circumstances (for example, attending a funeral). A list of these beneficiaries still needs to be defined and the scope of the future agreement still needs to be set. In addition, the scope of application for the new agreement still needs to be defined, as do the procedures for how the agreement works - including data protection (particularly when there is apparently now frequent recourse by member states to external agencies that have been delegated to issue visas and draw up the profile of the visa applicant).
The most delicate point will be the issue of the long-term management of migrant flows, particularly non-national Moroccans, and the “review of priorities” for clearly marking out the “shared responsibility”.
The issue of readmission arises as part of this. Fifteen negotiating sessions have not enabled a full response to the questions raised. Morocco, which underscores the common nature of the issue, intends to play its part, but by setting precise boundaries - clearly establishing that the illegal migrant sent back from Europe has passed through Moroccan territory, that the procedures for returning the migrant to their country of origin are fixed and codified, and also that account is taken of the “numbers constraint” - in other words, that the flows do not exceed the numbers planned. This matter is therefore still to be finalised. (FB)