EP resolution does not change political nature of Spain-Morocco bilateral crisis – FM
The resolution adopted, Thursday, by the European Parliament does not change the political nature of the bilateral crisis between Morocco and Spain, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said, underlining that Madrid attempts to “Europeanize” the crisis are “futile”.
Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the EU’s resolution stating that the attempts to between Spain and Morocco are “futile.”
In a statement issued Friday, a day after the European Parliament adopted a resolution tabled by Spanish MEPs on the influx of irregular migrants to the occupied enclave of Ceuta last May, the Ministry said that attempts to Europeanize this crisis are futile and do not alter the purely bilateral nature of the crisis, its root causes, and Spain’s evidenced responsibility in triggering it.
“The instrumentalization of the European Parliament in this crisis is counterproductive. Far from contributing to the solution, it is part of a logic of short-sighted political escalation”, noted the ministry, adding that this maneuver, which aims to circumvent the debate on the underlying reasons behind the crisis, does not fool anyone.
For the ministry, the resolution is out of phase with Morocco’s exemplary accomplishments in migration cooperation with the European Union. “These very people who are trying to criticize Morocco in this area are actually the very people benefiting from the concrete and daily results of Morocco’s cooperation on the ground,” the statement said.
The ministry argued that no one in Europe can question the quality of the partnership between the European Union and Morocco in all areas, including migration.
“The figures are there to confirm it,” the ministry said, indicating that Morocco aborted more than 14,000 irregular migration attempts since 2017.
During these past four years, Morocco also dismantled 5,000 trafficking networks, rescued more than 80,500 migrants at sea and prevented countless storming attempts by would-be immigrants.
“Moreover, Morocco does not need a guarantee in its management of migration. The posture of the teacher and the pupil does not work anymore. Paternalism is a dead end. It is not the punishment or the reward which induces behaviors, but rather the conviction of a shared responsibility,” said the ministry.
The resolution of the European Parliament is contrary to the spirit of the partnership between Morocco and the EU, considering that by trying to stigmatize Morocco, it is actually weakening the very principle of this partnership. “It shows, across the EU’s southern neighborhood, that even the oldest and most successful constructions can be the subject of untimely and opportunistic actions at the European Parliament,” it noted.
“As much as Morocco is satisfied with its relationship with the European Union, it considers that the problem remains with Spain, as long as the reasons for its outbreak have not been resolved,” noted the ministry.
