European Union Reacts to Morocco’s Agricultural Warning

The EU will take the necessary measures to secure the agricultural agreement and preserve partnership with Morocco, wrote High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini and Delegate Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita in a statement issued following their meeting on Tuesday in Brussels.

Bourita met with Mogherini and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker on February 7 in Brussels to discuss the state of relations between Morocco and EU following a communiqué released by the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture the day before warning the European Commission and the European Council against the obstacles to their joined agricultural agreement.

The meeting stressed the importance of the partnership between Morocco and the EU, stating how “both parties remain committed to this partnership. […] The European Union and Morocco are determined to preserve and develop it in its various dimensions.”

On December 21, 2016, the European Court of Justice issued a ruling labeling Western Sahara a “non-self-governing territory” and called upon EU member states to “immediately cease all agreements, funding and projects” with the territory.

The same day as the court’s ruling, Mogherini and Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar issued a joint statement emphasizing the importance of maintaining stable commercial ties and agreed that technical teams meet for consultation. It stressed that bilateral talks will continue in a climate of serenity and shared trust to agree on arrangements necessary for the development of relations between the two parties, mainly in the field of agriculture.

The statement went on to say that, if necessary, appropriate measures would be taken to maintain the free-trade agreement on processed agricultural products and fisheries products between the EU and Morocco, but that “the two parties voiced their readiness to resume work and broaden cooperation in all fields of shared interest.”

“The two parties voiced their readiness to resume work and broaden cooperation in all fields of shared interest,” it noted.

Source :Morocco World News