Speaker of the House of Representatives Chairs Ceremony to Launch Institutional Twinning between the House of Representatives and Several European Parliaments

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami chaired, on Friday, September 23, 2022, at the seat of the House, the ceremony to launch the Institutional Twinning Project between the House of Representatives and several European parliaments, in the presence of a large number of important figures.

The meeting was attended by the Speaker of the Belgian House of Representatives, Hon. Eliane Tillieux, the First Deputy-Speaker of the French National Assembly, Hon. Valérie Rabault, The Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, Hon. Jaroslav Bžoch, and the Chairperson of the Morocco-France Parliamentary Friendship Group, Hon. Habib El Malki, as well as members of the Board of the House of Representatives, chairpersons of the parliamentary groups and caucus, Ambassador of the European Union to the Kingdom of Morocco, ambassadors or representatives of the embassies of Belgium, Hungary, Czech, Greece, and Portugal.

Speaking at the opening session of the Institutional Twinning Project, Hon. Talbi El Alami recalled the fruits of the first institutional twinning project between the Moroccan House of Representatives and five European legislative institutions funded by the European Union, which covered the digital parliament and the archive, hence contributing to its organization and digitization to preserve memory, support scientific research and enrich the parliamentary documentary record.

According to the Speaker of the House, this positive build-up has led to the elaboration of the second Twinning Project, which includes two components. The ones included in the first part are activities aimed at strengthening the human resources capacity of the parliamentary administration, and those programmed in the second part are designed to enhance the House's efficiency and effectiveness in exercising its constitutional competencies and functions.

According to Hon. Talbi El Alami, the Twinning Project is characterized by a vital component linked to a central societal concern in Morocco and other countries: women's presence in parliaments.

The Twinning Project also seeks to "enable the House to identify good practices in the field of the application of bilingualism in institutions and public life in connection with a central constitutional, institutional and cultural reform that our country is proud to implement, namely the formalization of the Amazigh language and its integration into education and the various priority sectors of public life."

The Speaker's address also included a historical note as he noted, "Morocco was a victim of colonialism, regained its independence and sovereignty in 1956, and completed its territorial integrity in stages within the framework of negotiations and based on international law and legitimacy, including its sovereignty over its southern territories in 1975. After 47 years, these regions have changed drastically and become centers of attraction for investment, and they have been empowered with the major and structured equipment," adding that "it is his duty to recall that Morocco does not and will not accept being a victim of secession, nor will he accept any questioning of the territorial integrity of its national territory from Tangiers to Laguera (...) In short, there is no more eloquent statement in this regard, and there is no more accurate national statement summarizing the current national position than His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who said, "The Sahara cause is the lens through which Morocco looks at the world. It is the clear, simple benchmark whereby my country measures the sincerity of friendships and the efficiency of partnerships."

On the other hand, Hon. Valérie Rabault, First Deputy Speaker of the French National Assembly, touched on the twinning project, which she believes is "a translation of the strong relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the European Union, within the framework of the enlarged powers given by the 2011 Constitution to the legislative institution in evaluating public policies and controlling government action," in addition to the "Strategic Plan for the Rehabilitation and Development of the action of the House of Representatives."

In this regard, the French National Assembly and the European Union will strengthen parliamentary cooperation for the various legislative institutions contributing to this project by exchanging experiences and drafting an action plan within the framework of a cooperation project.

For her part, the Speaker of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Hon. Eliane Tillieux praised the clauses of this Twinning agreement and commended the role of parliaments in preserving democratic gains, bringing opinions closer, and facilitating understanding. She also recalled the positive trend of the first experience of institutional twinning, which, in her opinion, was successful by all standards.

During the same meeting, Hon. Jaroslav Bžoch, Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, highlighted the strength of the Moroccan-Czech relations, recalling, in this respect, the working visit of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the Czech Republic, as well as the challenges, the regional role of the Kingdom of Morocco and the unique position it enjoys as a partner to the European Union. In the same context, he touched on the role the European Union played within its partnership with the Czech Republic and the Czech Parliament to lay the foundations for democratic practice and post-Soviet democratic construction, an experience the Czech Parliament wishes to share with the Moroccan House of Representatives.

For her part, H.E. Patricia Llombart Cussac, the European Union Ambassador to Morocco, stated that this twinning is a clear expression of the convergence of the Moroccan and European will. On the same occasion, she described the Kingdom as the historical partner of the European Union, as the latter is the first economic partner of Morocco. At the same time, the Kingdom is the primary beneficiary in the region of the programs funded by the European Union.

H.E. Nicolaos Argyros, Ambassador of Greece to the Kingdom of Morocco, expressed his country's readiness, within the framework of this twinning, to provide expertise to the Moroccan House of Representatives to enhance its prerogatives, significantly strengthen the position of the legislative authority in the Moroccan democratic experience.

For his part, H.E. Miklós Erik Tromler, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to the Kingdom of Morocco, highlighted the dynamic of Moroccan-Hungarian relations, which have been crowned with visits by high-level officials between the two countries, as well as the role played by the Morocco-Hungary Parliamentary Friendship Group, in addition to the excellent judicial, cultural and economic cooperation between the two countries. Additionally, the Hungarian diplomat also lauded the initiative of the European Union and called for making it the cornerstone of any upcoming partnerships, cooperation agreements, or exchanges of views.

Mr. Pascal Antoniko, Political Affairs Adviser to the Italian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, stressed that "the Twinning Project is key to strengthening parliamentary cooperation at the Mediterranean level and a mechanism for exchanging experiences in the democratic and legislative practice among the various parties."

During the same meeting, the Secretary-General of the House of Representatives, Mr. Najib El Khadi, gave a brief presentation on the Twinning Project clauses, which boil down to the improvement of the achievements of the House in performing its constitutional duties.

The Morocco-EU Institutional Twinning Project, as presented by the Secretary-General, brings together the Moroccan House of Representatives with a coalition of three Houses from France, Belgium, and the Czech Republic, with the support of houses from four countries, namely Hungary, Portugal, Italy, and Greece.

Covering the period of two years (2022-2024), the Twinning Project complements the project, "Support and Development of the Role of Parliament in Promoting Democracy in Morocco," funded by the European Union and implemented by the Moroccan Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.