Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Holds Series of Meetings at the European Parliament in Brussels on 27-30 June and in Strasbourg on 4-7 July 2022

As part of deepening consultation and discussion with the European side, the members of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, chaired by Cllr. Lahcen Haddad, held a series of meetings at the European Parliament in Brussels on June 27-30 and Strasbourg on 4-7 July 2022.

In this regard, the Moroccan parliamentary delegation of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee held meetings with 36 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from various political groups in Brussels and Strasbourg to discuss two reports. The first report was prepared by the Human Rights Committee and the second by the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The preliminary preparation of the baseline report of the Human Rights Committee was undertaken by the European Parliamentary Rapporteur, MEP. Isabel Weseler-Lima of the Christian Social Peoples’ Party group. The report sheds light on the protection of journalists worldwide and the European Union’s policy on the matter. The said document was drafted after an exchange of views with journalists and experts in the field, and it proposes a draft recommendation against Morocco.

The Foreign Affairs Committee, however, deliberated during the same week on the report prepared by the MEP from the Christian Social People's Party group, Mr Antonio López-Istúriz White. The document discusses foreign policy and security within the framework of the renewal of the partnership with the southern Mediterranean countries and the new action plan for the Mediterranean Sea. In the said report, several European MEPs from the Greens Group and the European United Left proposed amendment No.179 and a draft recommendation No. 192 against Morocco.

In conjunction with the incidents that took place at the level of the border fence between Nador and the occupied city Melilla, following the mass organized attempt by irregular African migrants to storm the iron fence, the same two parliamentary groups proposed an urgent draft recommendation against Morocco.

In view of this aggressive and systematic strategy led against Morocco by some MEPs, who are known for their sympathy with the Polisario separatists and their desperate attempts to mislead the European public opinion, the members of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee held a series of meetings with prominent European parliamentarians. The meeting attendees expressed the common will to continue the European-Moroccan dialogue and the importance of finding solutions to common challenges and threats. In this regard, they expressed the need to give a new impetus to Morocco-EU relations, taking solidarity action to promote the European Neighborhood Policy and combatting illegal immigration by exploiting all available opportunities for cooperation to achieve common sustainable security and prosperity.

Meanwhile, the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee called for stronger European-Moroccan cooperation, which should be based on a multidimensional partnership that establishes stronger ties development, especially in the fields of energy, renewable energies, peace, security and agriculture, fisheries, migration, security, fight against organized crime and cross-border terrorism.

On this point, the Moroccan parliamentarians stressed the need to be aware of the seriousness of the situation and the increasing security threats. Furthermore, they emphasized the importance of creating synergies between the two sides within a participatory and preventive approach to confront all the dangers and risks that threaten the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Thanks to its relevant initiatives, the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee succeeded in thwarting the three urgent draft recommendations and the two draft amendments proposed by the Human Rights Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Moreover, the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee succeeded in clarifying certain facts in the plenary sitting held on Monday, July 4, 2022, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, which, after the adoption of the order of business, featured the presence of only 15% of MEPs, who participated in a debate that lasted about 20 minutes, with no resolution adopted thereon. The same debate also featured the interventions of several MEPs who clarified the gravity of acts committed by illegal immigration Mafias, following their mobilization and militarisation of irregular migrants who broke into the Moroccan territory, attempting to scale the border fence of Melilla. Such incidents, they further added, left at least 23 people dead and many injured, prompting calls for investigation by many human rights, judicial and political actors. In this respect, they hold the mafias of illegal migration and trafficking in persons responsible for illegally bringing and helping sub-Saharan migrants to break into the Moroccan territory, attack public officials, organize an armed gathering, and encourage them to scale the border fence of the occupied Melilla.

In the same vein, the MEPs also hailed the role played by Morocco in addressing illegal migration issues using its means. They urged the European actors to cooperate with the Kingdom to develop an integrated approach to these issues.

In this context, the European officials welcomed the role of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee and its efforts to bring together views and exchange experiences between them, which would enhance partnership and raise the performance of parliamentary diplomacy.

On the other hand, the members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee seized this opportunity to address the manoeuvres that threaten the territorial integrity of our country and undermine the distinguished partnership between Morocco and the EU based on mutual respect, especially international instruments and all agreements concluded within the framework of the advanced status of the Morocco-EU partnership. In this connection, the European parliamentarians were sensitized to the step taken by the Greens and the European United Left parliamentary groups, which would create misinformation and reflect a bias that contradicts the position of the EU on the question of the Moroccan Sahara.

In response to these hostile manoeuvres against Morocco and based on the request of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, the MEPs put questions to the European Commission regarding migration issues, migration-related problems, and the leading role played by Morocco in protecting Europe from the flow of migrants across its maritime borders.

The two parliamentary missions featured the participation of:

- Cllr. Lahcen Haddad, Head of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee;

- Rep. Zina Chahime – the National Rally of Independents group;

- Rep. Sidi Brahim Khaya – the National Rally of Independents group;

- Rep. Fatima Zahra Bentaleb – the Authenticity and Modernity group;

- Rep. Abdelmajid El Fassi Fihri, Istiqlali Group of Unity and Egalitarianism;

- Cllr. Khemmar Mrabet (Chairperson of the Group of Authenticity and Modernity at the House of Councilors);

- Cllr. Mbarek Sbai (Chairperson of the Haraki Group at the House of Councilors).