Morocco-European Union Joint Parliamentary Committee Holds Series of Meetings at European Parliament in Strasbourg on September 12-14, 2022
As part of deepening dialogue and consultation with the European side, the Morocco-European Union Joint Parliamentary Committee members, led by Cllr. Lahcen Haddad, held a series of meetings at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on September 12-14, 2022.
In this regard, the Moroccan parliamentary delegation of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee held talks with 21 European deputies in Strasbourg, representing various political groups. The discussions covered the report on the recommendation of the European Parliament to the EU Commissioner and Vice-Commissioner, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on the renewable partnership with Southern Neighborhood Countries – a new agenda of the Mediterranean, which was voted during a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
The first draft of the report was prepared by the Foreign Affairs Committee on the renewable partnership with Southern Neighborhood Countries – a new agenda of the Mediterranean and included draft amendments against Morocco. It should be noted that the same report was discussed by the Foreign Affairs Committee last July, where an anti-Morocco draft amendment and recommendation were proposed by some European deputies from the Groups of the Greens and the Unified European Left. However, they were categorically rejected by the Foreign Affairs Committee back then.
Following this systematic strategy by the foes of the Kingdom of Morocco and their vain attempts to misinform the European public opinion, which were turned down by the Foreign Affairs Committee in July thanks to the joint efforts of the European parliamentary groups in coordination with the Moroccan parliamentary delegation representing the Joint Committee, new amendments were proposed recently concerning the Morocco-EU Partnership, human rights conditions in Morocco, and the Kingdom's proposal to solve the conflict around the Moroccan Sahara.
In this respect, the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee members intensified their meetings as they held talks on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 13-14, with 21 European deputies. During these meetings, the Moroccan parliamentarians convinced their European counterparts of the imperative of rejecting these anti-Morocco amendments. On the same occasion, all the parties expressed a mutual will to pursue the EU-Morocco dialogue and the importance of finding consensual solutions to the challenges and threats they face to give new impetus to the ties linking the Kingdom of Morocco to the European Union, and deploying joint efforts to advance the European Neighborhood Policy by seizing all cooperation opportunities to achieve sustainable security and mutual prosperity.
During the same meetings, the members of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee called for consolidating and supporting the European Moroccan edifice process through an approach that aims to establish stronger bonds that can stimulate joint development, especially in the areas of renewable energies, peace, security, agriculture, maritime fisheries, migration, organized crime, and transnational terrorism. This approach should also be an imperative that considers the Morocco-EU partnership in all its aspects. Besides, the Moroccan parliamentarians stressed the imperative of being conscious of the situation's gravity and security threats.
As a result of its initiatives, the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee has managed to foil the draft amendments in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. In this respect, one amendment has been retracted. At the same time, the other one was rejected by the absolute majority of votes, composed of all the political components from the parties of the Right, the Center, and the Left. The parties also highlighted the leading role that the Kingdom of Morocco plays with its European neighborhood in all areas and the importance of foiling all attempts to stall the development of the Kingdom of Morocco and defending the Kingdom's territorial integrity.
The Moroccan parliamentary delegation featured:
- Cllr. Lahcen Haddad, Chairperson of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee;
- Rep. Zaina Chahim, from the Group of the National Rally of Independents;
- Rep. Hicham Ait Menna, from the Group of the National Rally of Independents;
- Rep. Fatimazahra Bentaleb, from the Group of Authenticity and Modernity;
- Rep. Abdelmajid El Fassi Fihri, from the Istiqlali Group of Unity and Egalitarianism.