Morocco expects 54 million euros in EU aid for the Mohammed VI Fund
Morocco has announced that during the 2024 Finance Bill (PLF), the European Union will contribute 54 million euros in aid. This agreement will be signed, if all goes according to plan, at the beginning of next year, which is not expected to be a problem due to the Kingdom's increasingly strong relations with the EU. This assistance would come as part of the EU's ongoing effort to 'mobilise external financing with various partners to support Morocco's structural and sectoral reforms'.
One of the most important signs of the EU's ties with North Africa was the European Commission's adoption of a new agenda for the Mediterranean. Subsequently approved by the European Council, this initiative, which entered into force on 9 February 2021, aimed precisely to relaunch and strengthen this partnership between the EU and the region. However, despite these short-term agreements, the vision is focused on the long term.
The economic and investment plan envisaged between the two parties should mobilise up to 95 billion dirhams - almost nine billion euros - for investment in Morocco by 2027. It is this plan that proposes participation in the Mohammed VI Strategic Investment Fund, in addition to others in the energy sector. All of this is part of a series of agreements that was brought closer by visits such as the one in March this year, when the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, met with Mohamed Benchaâboun, Director General of the Fund.
Oliver Varhelyi reaffirmed that "the EU is ready to co-finance projects and make a direct contribution to the Fund". He also set out some of the objectives, such as "mobilising the public and private sectors in Morocco", as well as "promoting the digital and energy transition and supporting research and development institutes and technology transfer".
The fight against climate change is another aspect of this partnership, which aims to advance the development of green energy. Morocco is leading the race in its region in this sector, which is why Aziz Akhannouch's government intends to sign a 103 million euro financing agreement with the European Union in 2024 in the form of a donation, within the framework of the green transition and the aforementioned fight against climate change.