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Friday 13 May 2022

Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission Holds 11th Meeting in Brussels

Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission Holds 11th Meeting in Brussels

The 11th meeting of the Morocco-European Union Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) opened Thursday at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Co-chaired by Lahcen Haddad, from the Moroccan Parliament, and Andrea Cozzolino, from the European Parliament, the meeting was marked by the participation of the Speaker of the House of Advisors, Naama Mayara.

The meeting was an opportunity to review the results and achievements of this important body for political dialogue and cooperation between Morocco and the EU and to discuss the prospects for their development.

It is also an opportunity to discuss issues related to the European Neighborhood Policy, the crisis in Ukraine, the geopolitical situation in North Africa, the Euro-Moroccan partnership for shared prosperity, human rights, cooperation in environment and the fight against climate change, and security cooperation.

''We are convinced of the imperative for Morocco and Europe to establish solid and innovative partnerships, in order to create a space of shared prosperity and to address together the challenges facing our common space," said, at the opening of this meeting, the co-president of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission (JPC), Lahcen Haddad.

While underlining the importance of the partnership between Rabat and Brussels, Mr. Haddad stressed that it is the responsibility of the Moroccan and European parliaments to work together on common solutions to the issues of ecological transition, terrorism, employment and socio-economic development.

''We have the ambition to continue on the path of a partnership at different levels, which would be solid for several decades, especially since it is now more necessary than ever, given the magnitude of the challenges, to work hand in hand, to create a space of prosperity beneficial to our fellow citizens,'' he pointed out.

The JPC co-president noted that "Moroccan and European MPs are called upon to reflect on new models of neighborhood looking to the future and falling within the overall context of our partnership".

For his part, the co-president of the EU-Morocco JPC, Andrea Cozzolino, underlined that "after two years of pandemic, which limited the possibilities of exchanges and deepening of our partnership, we are today today called to reconnect with more intense ties''.

Relations between our two institutions must be part of the dynamics of the historical and deeply-rooted Moroccan-European ties, he said.

Mr. Cozzolino, who is also the president of the Maghreb delegation to the European Parliament, highlighted the Kingdom's position as a "mature parliamentary democracy and a space of stability in the region".

"We are called upon to take advantage of Morocco's geopolitical role between Africa and Europe to coordinate our actions and intensify our exchanges," he stressed.

The mixed commission, which brings together different political affiliations represented at the two Houses of the Moroccan Parliament, offers the opportunity to interact with the groups of the European Parliament in order to present the Kingdom's point of view on several issues.

Last March, the members of the JPC held a series of meetings at the level of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (08-10 March) and in Brussels (15-17 March) in order to deepen consultations and discussions with the European side.

During these meetings, the two parties expressed the common will to continue the Euro-Moroccan dialogue and underlined the importance of reaching consensual solutions to the challenges and threats they face and giving new impetus to Morocco-EU relations.

They also stressed the need to promote the European Neighborhood Policy by seizing all the opportunities for cooperation offered in order to achieve lasting security and common prosperity.

MAP 12 mai 2022