Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation Taiev Fassi-Fihri announced a new drive to strengthen and deepen relations with the European Union (EU) by securing “advanced status” with the bloc. Farri-Fihri told the EU Mediterranean Rim Cooperation conference that broadening market access and economic integration would benefit both Morocco and the countries of the EU. The conference was a “five plus five” meeting between EU members France, Italy, Portugal and Malta and Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania. Several European leaders, including European commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Spanish foreign affairs minister Miguel Angel Moratinos have endorsed the concept, and negotiations are expected to commence in the spring. Ferrero-Waldner highlighted the important role that Morocco plays in the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration; trade ties between the EU and the North African country are also particularly strong. Some 60% of Morocco’s trade is with the EU, the world’s largest market. While 59% of this is currently accounted for by textiles, which Morocco exports in large quantities, growth sectors such as the automotive industry and agriculture are also exporting to the Union. In 2006, Morocco’s exports to the EU were worth $10.5 billion, with goods worth $15.1 billion going in the other direction. A large proportion of foreign direct investment in the North African country comes from the EU, and France in particular has been increasing its interests there over the past year, including in tourism. Millions of European tourists visit the country annually, and the government is aiming to increase numbers further.
New state of cooperation
“We must enter a new stage in cooperation between Rabat and Brussels,” said Benita Ferrero-Walder, noting that a working group on EU-Morocco relations established in July last year by the Morocco-EU Association Council, had already laid the foundations for strengthening ties. She praised Morocco’s history of commitment to security cooperation with the EU, including its involvement in ALTHEA, the bloc’s military operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2004, as well as joint anti-terrorism projects. Moratinos asserted that the EU’s Mediterranean members would lead the push to award Morocco “advanced” status. The Spanish foreign minister went on to say that Spain would use its presidency of the EU in 2012 to cement the prospective agreement. While the call for “advanced” relations with the EU have made headlines, to a large extent it represents a reassertion of the integration process that is well underway. Morocco’s association agreement with the Union, signed in 1996, passed into force in 2000, giving Moroccan industrial products duty free access to the EU market. The Morocco-EU Association Council provides an ongoing process of discussions on trade, politics and regional security. In 2006, Morocco signed an open skies agreement with the Union, liberalizing transport links between them; dialogue on industrial and investment cooperation as well as the opening up of agriculture and fisheries trade, are already underway.
There is a real hunger among the Moroccan authorities to keep up the momentum. Youssef Amrani, director general of bilateral relations at the foreign affairs ministry, said that advanced status would give a boost to Morocco’s development and help the EU to tackle “increased risks in the region”, which it should view as a priority. King Mohammed VI has also thrown his support behind the increased cooperation, urging France to help Morocco achieve advanced status, which seems likely, given French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s strong Mediterranean policy. France takes over the EU’s rotating presidency in the second half of this year, giving Morocco — and indeed France’s other North African allies — the perfect window of opportunity to press their case.
While relations across the Mediterranean continue to strengthen, there is still a frustrating lack of progress across the Sahara; trade between Morocco and its Maghreb neighbors is still sluggish. The Arab Maghreb Union, which was founded in 1989, has more or less ground to a halt. At the conference, Moratinos encouraged the five countries to work on the creation of a common market, adding that the other countries could then benefit from Morocco’s advanced status. Spain and Morocco are now leading calls for another “five plus five” to discuss Maghreb economic integration.
