EU reiterates attachment to closer ties with Morocco

In the wake of an anti-Moroccan ruling by the European Court of Justice, the European Union reaffirmed its attachment to strengthening ties with Morocco in all areas.

“The (European) Council reiterates the high value that the EU attaches to our strategic partnership with Morocco,” the union’s foreign policy chief Joseph Borell told the press.

The partnership with Morocco is “longstanding, wide ranging and deep,” he said, adding that The EU “established a profound friendship and a solid multi-faceted cooperation (with Morocco) which we plan to continue and to increase in the next month.”

“In close cooperation with Morocco, the EU firmly intends to preserve and continue strengthening our close relations and our partnership in all areas,” he said.

The statement echoes a joint statement by the European Commission and the European Council in the wake of a politically biased ruling by the ECJ annulling trade deals with Morocco because they included goods from the Sahara territory.

Borell’s statement also highlights the dilemma of a European Union’s foreign policy, where judges seek to influence political issues.

Morocco made it clear that it was not a party to the case, urging the EU to provide “legal certainty” for its deals.

Rabat however denounced the ruling as politically biased, fraught with factual errors, arguing that the court cannot substitute the UN and the Security Council.

Morocco underscored that it will not subscribe to any deal or legal instrument that does not respect its territorial integrity and national unity.

EU member states including France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and others reaffirmed attachment to the partnership with Morocco following the ruling.