Brussels, 24/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - Morocco and the European Commission have agreed to a new meeting to take place this February in Brussels, with a view to entering into farm negotiations to adapt the agricultural exchange regime to new Association Agreement and WTO measures. Last week's meeting of experts in Rabat apparently failed to bring about any significant convergence of viewpoints. However, according to a Community source, it did allow headway to be made on a number of outstanding points. The discussions may have reached an "advanced stage" but they were "extremely difficult", according to the Secretary General of the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture, Hassan Benabderrazik, who confirmed that progress had nonetheless been made. Meanwhile the Press has accused the EU of protectionism (particularly as regards Moroccan tomato exports), of neglecting the region in favour of enlargement, and of being piqued to see Morocco entering into negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the United States . Direct negotiations between Washington and Rabat began on 21 January, and will continue until the 25th. The French Trade Minister, François Loos, confirmed during his visit to Morocco on 14 January that a Morocco-US free-trade agreement would be "incompatible" with deepening economic relations with the EU. On 22 January, a spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the view that "it would most certainly be worthwhile to consider whether or not there is any contradiction between the Euro-Mediterranean free-trade zone currently being set up and other free-trade agreements". This applies also to relations between the EU and Israel: "the same principle applies across the board. Wherever there are free-trade agreements with different partners, you have to make sure there is no contradiction between the various agreements". He also stated that the Association Agreement undertaken with the EU "is not confined to commercial matters, which explains the privileged nature of the relationship between the Union and Morocco, and, within the Union framework, with France".
The EU-Morocco farm negotiations will take place against a backdrop of improved relations between Rabat and Madrid. After a period of tension, both governments are showing signs of greater goodwill , such as the access to Moroccan waters granted for a limited period to Gallican fishing fleets, as a gesture of solidarity following the "Prestige" environmental disaster. Follow-up meetings have taken place in order to assist relations between the two countries, particularly between business and investors.
For their part, Spanish agricultural bodies in the fruit and vegetable sector have expressed concern at the prospect of an increasingly open European market, and are opposed to concessions for Morocco. In a press release published in Madrid, the Spanish Federation of Exporters (FEDEX) and the agricultural organisations Asaja, Coag and Upa spoke out against "allowing fruit and vegetables to be used as currency in commercial agreements with Third Countries in order to reap benefits for other economic sectors". They also condemned the Commission's intention to open up access between October and May to over 200,000 tonnes of Moroccan tomatoes (as opposed to a current level of 168,757) with no payment of duties. These organisations believe that this will lead to "the medium-term obliteration of the Spanish tomato sector". In return, the Commission "claims it will improve opportunities to export cereals and livestock-related products to Morocco (…) This kind of trade policy endangers the economic, social and commercial fabric of large parts" of Spain, the press release concludes.