As the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, the European Council on 10-11 December is expected to underline its willingness to renew its partnership with the countries of the region.
“The EU’s strategic priorities require a renewed and strengthened partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood. We are ready to enter into a constructive dialogue with our partners from the region to this end”, states a draft European Council conclusions dated 1 December obtained by EUROPE.
According to the leaders, work will be guided by the Strategic Agenda 2019-2024 and the key principles of the Neighbourhood Policy and supported by effective use of EU financial instruments. “Over and beyond responding to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, this should lead to the identification of specific areas for cooperation, with a set of tangible deliverables”, the European Council says. It expresses its determination to reinforce synergies with the UfM in the framework of its cooperation and dialogue with the region.
Leaders look forward to the joint Communication of the Commission and the High Representative on a renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood, expected in the spring.
In order to prepare this communication, the Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, Olivér Várhelyi, visited Morocco on 1 December. “We have a new vision of our partnership in mind, a new vision that must be able to influence the economic reality, the social reality in the next 4-5 years”, he explained to the press with the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita. According to the Commissioner, the partnership should also focus on the ‘Green Deal’, digitalisaton, education, and strengthening industry.
Mr Bourita welcomed the fact that partner countries are being consulted. According to him, the Neighbourhood Policy should not only be seen from a financial point of view, but also from the point of view of a “real partnership, better ownership and involvement of the neighbourhood countries in the decisions that have an impact on their economy and development and that are taken by the EU in the framework of its own policy”. The Minister also wanted the content of this policy to be more oriented towards a direct impact on the economy and society.
Mr Várhelyi and Mr Bourita also discussed relations between the EU and Morocco. Mr Bourita said that his country intended to preserve the four areas of relations with the EU (convergence of values, economic convergence and social cohesion, shared knowledge and political concertation, and increased cooperation on security - see EUROPE 12284/1), with horizontal axes such as digital, economy and migration. “For us, it is a structure that is consistently relevant and must be fed by concrete projects”, he added.
The Commissioner said that the EU would like to assist the country in managing the migration situation. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)