Bruxelles

The publication of this annual report, by the departments of the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS), is part of the implementation of the agreement in the form of an exchange of letters, amending Protocols 1 and 4 of the Morocco-EU Association Agreement, which entered into force on July 19, 2019, commonly known as the “Agricultural Agreement”.

As in previous years, the positive tone of the report, which details the various aspects of the benefits brought by this agreement to the population of the southern provinces of the Kingdom, reflects the quality of the Partnership between Morocco and the European Union, and testifies to the satisfactory implementation of the Agricultural Agreement, in particular thanks to the tools for dialogue and the exchange of information existing between the two parties.

+Quantified impact on socio-economic development+

The report confirms the upward trends of 2021, with regard to trade between the two parties, thanks to the Agreement and the tariff preferences enjoyed by Moroccan products, including those from the Southern Provinces, intended for export to EU, making them more competitive and attractive.

With supporting figures, the document reaffirms the positive impact of the agreement on the socio-economic development of the regions of the Moroccan Sahara and their populations, in terms of economic growth, production and export of agricultural products and fishing, job creation and investment.

Main conclusion: Thanks to the growth they are experiencing, the regions of the Moroccan Sahara have today become a real center of prosperity and investment within the framework of the win-win partnership with the European Union.

Overall, the thirty-page document highlights the significant progress made by the Kingdom for the development of its Southern Provinces, within the framework of the “2016-2021 development program”, through the implementation of large-scale projects and the various public policies deployed in these regions. It confirms the impact of the measures deployed and their multiplier effects in terms of investment, improvement of working conditions, socio-economic integration of women, vigorous support for young people, and infrastructure development.

+Substantial efforts and colossal investments+

Another equally important point: The report reflects recognition on the part of the Commission and the EEAS of the substantial efforts made by the Kingdom in its Southern Provinces, in terms of the rationalized and sustainable use of natural resources (Port of Dakhla, project for a desalination station, plan to combat desertification, etc.). It also reports significant national investments in the renewable energy sector, electricity production in the region and the development of new job-creating industrial activities.

In its exhaustive and inclusive approach, the report recalls that the various economic actors and representatives of civil society, including non-governmental organizations active in the field of human rights in these regions, have underlined the primordial importance of the Agreement, its satisfactory implementation and its beneficial impact on the socio-economic development of the regions of the Moroccan Sahara.

”The agreement is being implemented in a balanced way. The tools for a good implementation are still in place and working properly. Exchanges of information were carried out regularly and in a spirit of cooperation. The exchange system provides, on a monthly basis, information on product exports and works well and has not given rise to research difficulties,” the report’s authors point out.

According to them, there is a constructive dialogue and regular contacts between the European Commission and the Moroccan authorities to ensure the proper implementation of the agreement.

+Significant achievements in the defense of human rights+

Avoiding no area, the European Executive and the EEAS highlight Morocco’s significant efforts and achievements in the defense of human rights at national level, and its active role at multilateral level, as evidenced by its election as a member of the Human Rights Council for the period 2023-2025. He recalls the regular dialogue between Morocco and the EU within the framework of the Human Rights, Democratization and Governance Sub-Committee and the important role played by the regional Human Rights Commissions in Dakhla and Laâyoune, reiterated in the latest UN Security Council resolution.

With regard to the National Question, the document recalls the support of the EU to the process led by the United Nations and to the efforts of the new Personal Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Staffan de Mistura. It affirms the EU’s commitment to strengthening regional cooperation and its readiness to contribute to it.

+Scathing setback for Algeria+

New snub brought by the European institutions to the adversaries’ propaganda on a so-called “looting” of the resources of the Southern Provinces, the report confirms the importance of this Agreement for the Southern Provinces, and thus goes to the once morest the objective sought by the adversaries, aiming to deprive the populations of these regions of their right to development.

It thus represents a new setback inflicted by the European Commission and the EEAS on Algeria and the Polisario, which continue to multiply unsuccessful maneuvers with the aim of calling into question the legality of the Agreements between the EU and Morocco, covering the Southern Provinces. It intervenes, in fact, in the wake of the decision of the Administrative Court of London, rejecting their legal action once morest the Association Agreement linking Morocco and the United Kingdom, which confirmed the validity of this Agreement, which benefits the populations and the development of all Moroccan regions.

No offense to Algeria, for which the report sounds like an end of inadmissibility, this 2022 edition once once more attests to the continuity of commercial relations between Morocco and the European Union, their stability and the continued engagement of the EU in the framework of its comprehensive, strategic and long-standing Partnership with Morocco.