Morocco’s ambassador to the EU and NATO, Ahmed Reda Chami, expressed optimism on Thursday 26 October about a speedy agreement on agriculture, while the European Court of Justice requires the part of Morocco that is internationally recognised as Western Sahara, but which Morocco says is Moroccan, to be covered separately (see EUROPE 11450).
The ambassador explained in answer to a question from EUROPE that he had good hopes of reaching agreement in the following weeks that would then be submitted to the European Parliament. He was speaking at a conference entitled: ‘Modern Morocco: between spirituality, democracy and economic development’. On 23 October, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita expressed common determination to carry through the current negotiations as soon as possible to amend the protocols to the farm agreement (see EUROPE 11890).
We have been working non-stop since the ruling for nearly eight months and holding tough talks with the Europeans on an exchange of letters to amend the farm agreement, Chami explained. He said that in the exchange of letters, Morocco had made it clear that Saharan products will benefit from the free-trade agreement as required by the European Court of Justice (CJEU). The CJEU wants the consent of the peoples living in the two regions that make up Western Sahara, and the ambassador said they had suggested going to consult the regional councils of the various regions, which are elected by the local population in free elections with EU observers. The councils’ opinion would be sought, along with the views of other bodies. Finally, as requested by the European Commission rather than the CJEU, Morocco must prove that the agreements are beneficial for people.
Developing relations
Chami recognised that this issue would impact on EU-Moroccan relations, which had reached a low point although things were starting to pick up and the political partnership resumed in other domains. He said Europe has problems (Ed: Brexit and migration) but in terms of strategy, Morocco wants to extend its relations with Europe and make them stronger. More Africa does not mean less Europe and the EU is a strategic partner, said Chami. In December, his country will join ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States), and it joined the African Union in early 2017. Morocco is for Europe what Mexico is for the United States, he said, in terms of an investment and export platform for Europe. The ambassador said Morocco could also be a player, a good partner, for helping solve some of Europe’s problems, such as migration and security. He explained that Moroccan intelligence services worked very frequently with European services to prevent planned acts of terrorism.
Likewise, Morocco is a partner of NATO and part of the Mediterranean dialogue, political dialogue, with interoperability agreements between the Moroccan army and NATO, which allows the army to participate in military action in areas such as Bosnia. We will continue to develop this partnership, he added.
In addition, while the ambassador said that cultural cooperation is carried out between EU member states and Morocco rather than the EU as such, he was able to announce the holding of a cultural week on Morocco at the European Parliament in early 2018. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)