Press Statement of Speaker of House of Representatives of Kingdom of Morocco

I learned with astonishment and disappointment the inclusion of a draft resolution in the European Parliament on an alleged “use of minors by the Moroccan authorities” in the migratory crisis of Sebta.

This move flatly contradicts the quality of cooperation between the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco and the European Parliament.

It is part of an attempt to shift attention from a purely bilateral crisis between the Kingdom of Morocco and Spain. This crisis, as everyone knows, does not concern migration but the entry into Spain, in a fraudulent manner, of an individual prosecuted by Spanish justice for heinous crimes against Spanish victims.

The instrumentalization of the migration issue, particularly the issue of unaccompanied minors in this context, is clearly a maneuver aimed at Europeanizing a bilateral crisis. I deplore the exploitation of an exceptional incident in a partnership in which the Kingdom of Morocco plays an exemplary role.

In the migration field, and as affirmed by the Moroccan authorities, the Kingdom of Morocco does not act under the orders of the European Union or in exchange for a counterpart. It does so as a partner and within the framework of shared responsibility, as proven by the figures recorded in the migration and security cooperation over the past few years that some European parliamentarians seem to ignore.

The House of Representatives, who will follow this issue very closely, hopes that the constructive partnership spirit will prevail and that the European Parliament will not fall into the escalation trap.