On Monday 25 November in Morocco, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, Olivér Várhelyi, and the Moroccan Minister for the Budget, Faouzi Lekjaa, signed a €100 million payment to help the country after the 2023 earthquake.
“This is a very important agreement for us in Europe, our contribution to reconstruction (...), direct aid to rebuild houses and for SMEs to continue working”, explained Mr Várhelyi at a press briefing with the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita.
The Commissioner recalled that the European Investment Bank had decided to grant €1 billion to support the reconstruction of the Moroccan regions affected by the earthquake.
Finding a solution for trade agreements. Mr Bourita called on the EU to find a solution for the EU/Morocco fisheries and agriculture agreements annulled by the EU Court of Justice, concerning products from Western Sahara (see EUROPE 13497/12).
After the Court’s verdict, the Europeans said they were committed to the partnership, but Mr Bourita called for actions beyond words. “The partnership framework is at a turning point, a phase in which we have to prove our commitment to the partnership, reiterate everything that was said in Brussels about the importance of our partnership, which has to be translated into concrete signals and actions, and show itself by defending this partnership against hostile legal and economic actions and provocations”, he explained. He said that he hoped to see tangible proof of this commitment to this partnership “in the coming weeks and months”.
The Commissioner explained that it was necessary to “find a common solution” in “a fairly short timeframe” as the verdict was a problem “not only for Morocco, but also for the EU” (see EUROPE 13526/4). “We are ready to work with you. We are committed to everything that has been achieved with Morocco, and we would like not only to save it, but also to extend it”, he promised, adding that the partnership with Rabat was essential. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)