EU european union, foreign policymaking, institutions, morocco, europe, international relations, mediterranean, intergovernmental relationship, strategic agreements
The main priorities of the European Union's external relations concern its extension to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and its relations with the countries of the Mediterranean region which are not members of the European Union in the will to pursue a coherent action. As far as the Mediterranean region is concerned, the European Fair Council pointed out that in order to achieve this goal it decided on the common strategy for the Mediterranean region. This served in particular as a guide to the Union's policies and actions to develop the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) established in the Barcelona Declaration and the subsequent acquits, both in relation to bilateral and regional relations. At the subsequent European Councils in Nice and Göteborg, member countries reaffirmed the EU's commitment to strengthening the EMP in all areas. This position was very well received and appreciated at the 4th Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Foreign Ministers (Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Marseille), an event in which the parties agreed to give a new impetus to the EMP. As a result, the EU's relations with the Maghreb countries over the past 30 years are different from those with other Mediterranean countries. After the signature of three cooperation agreements in April 1976 between the EEC, on the one hand, and Morocco, on the other, the will to strengthen historical and cultural ties is still present on all sides and to consolidate economic relations. As evidenced by the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements between the European Communities and their Member States and Morocco, which are in force. EMP mechanisms in Morocco provide new avenues to promote sustained economic development, political reforms, respect for human rights, and integration within the framework of regional and subregional cooperation through geographical proximity between the European Union and Morocco. Subsequent neighborhood relations, with all that this implies in terms of demographic, economic, ecological, sociocultural, and politico-military challenges, are easily palpable in relations with Morocco, the only Maghreb country that shares terrestrial and marine borders with the EU, particularly with Spain. In this circumstance are added historical links, possible defense commitments, an intense commercial relationship, and a large migratory flow driven more by disparities between demographic pressure indices linked to human development.
[...] A political dialogue at ministerial and administrative level is set up for this purpose. Therefore, even that Morocco is unable to be a participant of the European Union, Union's institutions welcomed the countries through the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. This agreement was settled thanks to the work of the Union's Parliament and the European Commission : they made the framework of the agreement and work for the participation of leaders from the Union. b. The European Union / Morocco Action Plan The implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy from 2004 contributed to the adoption, in July 2005, of a European Union / Morocco Action Plan further strengthening the partnership. [...]
[...] At the same time, the European Council rejected, on 1 October 1987, Morocco's candidacy for membership of the European Union, based on Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, which requires the candidate to be a "European" state. However, a turning point was made in 1996 with the adoption of an Association Agreement which came into force in 2000. It was part of the Barcelona Declaration of 1995 establishing the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The Association Agreement provides a framework for relations between the two parties. It sets the conditions for progressive liberalization of trade in goods, services and capital. [...]
[...] This strategy of welcoming European capital goes hand in hand with a commercial policy aimed at the South. Morocco is the largest investor in West Africa and relies notably on the banking sector (Attijariwafa Bank, BMCE), telecommunications (Maroc Telecom) and mining. We can see that it was possible only thanks to the support of the European Investment Bank that played a key role in the implementation of these programmes. Current actors and institutions playing a key role in the sustainability of this issue A. [...]
[...] It responds to the will of King Mohammed VI, expressed in 2000 to obtain a partnership that would be both a little more and better than the association, corrected and reviewed and, for some time again, a little less than the accession. Morocco is now the largest beneficiary of the credits granted under the Mediterranean component of the European Neighbourhood Policy, with the Palestinian Territories being a special case. Morocco has a singular position in the European Union's neighborhood policy. [...]
[...] Indeed, European Union is formed by many institutions: all these institutions have their own competences and play a role in the relationship between European Union and different actors at the international level. That is exactly the case for Morocco. This country has wanted to meet European Union's institutions, since the twentieth century. The relationship between Morocco and the European Union is built by many treaties and special treatments made thanks to the role of Union's institutions. Additional References : Byiers, B. and Tasnim Abderrahim Morocco's accession to ECOWAS: Building bridges or rocking the boat? ECDPM blog February 2018. [...]
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