Marruecos “reconsiderará” sus relaciones con el Parlamento Europeo

The latest resolution adopted by the European Parliament with 356 votes in favour, 32 against and 42 abstentions has strained ties between Morocco and the European Parliament. The Moroccan Parliament, which describes the resolution as "an unacceptable attack on the sovereignty of the kingdom and the independence of its judicial institutions", has announced that it will "reconsider" its relations with the European institution.

Moroccan MPs took the decision during an extraordinary joint session between the two legislative chambers. "The Moroccan Parliament strongly condemns the hostile attempts to damage the interests, the image of Morocco and the long-standing relations between Morocco and the European Union," the Rabat-based institution said after the session.

The Moroccan parliament said the decision of its European counterpart "undermines the basis of trust and cooperation" and affects "the positive results achieved over decades of common work". 

During the session, MEPs spoke of "interference", "neo-colonialism", "superiority complex" and "hypocrisy". Several MPs also raised the possibility that the EU's decision was a "late and desperate" reaction to the strengthening of ties between Morocco and other partners such as the US and the UK, as reported by Morocco World News.

The Moroccan politicians questioned why Europe does not condemn other human rights abuses in the region, such as those suffered by refugees in the Tindouf camps by the Polisario Front. They also pointed out that some of the MEPs who voted in favour of the resolution were influenced "by countries hostile to Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara", as well as by "Algerian promises" related to energy supplies. Moroccan MEPs also criticised that acts of hatred such as the recent burning of a Koran in Sweden and other attacks against immigrants and minorities are still tolerated in Europe.

Moroccan MP Abdelmajid Fassi Fihri echoed the Moroccan #Parliament's refusal of the #EuropeanParliament's interference in #Morocco's affairs and judiciary system.
Fihri said that the Parliament will consider a new paradigm in its #relationship with its European counterpart. pic.twitter.com/7EBnP1zvqt

— Morocco World News (@MoroccoWNews) January 23, 2023

Mohamed Ghayate, president of the National Rally of Independents (RNI) - a political party of which Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch is a member - stressed that they did not accept that Morocco should be "subject to blackmail". Ghayate stressed that Rabat "respects its obligations" and "does not interfere" in Europe, and called on MEPs to stay out of Morocco and "its affairs".

In this regard, he alluded to the energy agreements between some European countries and Algeria. "Morocco has no gas or oil, but we have a strong will and a great love for this country that has lasted for more than 12 centuries", he added, according to Rue20.

Abderrahim Chadid, head of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces Party (USFP) group in the House of Representatives, said that the European Parliament "focuses on cases that appear to be about defending human rights, but in reality their background is purely political in order to divert attention from the various crises facing some European countries", reports the Moroccan newspaper. 

Chadid urged MEPs to be "humble" and "not give lessons to anyone", recalling the cases of corruption and bribery linked to Qatar that are rocking the European Parliament and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

"You have left countries like Italy and Spain to face the epidemic alone. You have left old people to die in hospitals and nursing homes, without showing any sense of guilt," he said. He also urged MEPs to pass resolutions to curb the manufacture and sale of arms, combat poverty and climate change.

Nabila Mounib stressed that Morocco is an independent and sovereign country and "refuses to take orders from anywhere". Mounib recalled that Rabat "does not stop working" to strengthen the bilateral relationship with Brussels, although she also stressed that they do not want "a neo-colonial relationship".

The European Parliament resolution condemned the human rights and press freedom situation in Morocco. In particular, MEPs singled out journalist Omar Radi. MEPs called for "a fair trial with all guarantees" for Radi, who was convicted in 2021 on charges of espionage and sexual assault.

Lahcen Haddad, chairman of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, has sent a letter to MEPs explaining the case, recalling that it is "still on trial" and therefore "interferes" with the judicial process.

In the letter, Haddad points out that several parties "have tried to make people believe in the name of human rights" that Radi has been imprisoned "unjustly and arbitrarily for his opinions", although in reality he is "a detainee under ordinary law for being accused of rape".

"As with any other trial observed by human rights NGOs, the conditions for a fair trial were met," he adds. Haddad mentions Radi's victim and "strongly condemns the unprecedented and relentless campaign of defamation, fake news, harassment and denigration to which she was subjected".

"Aware of what this case of sexual violence, like the previous ones, represents for the rights of men and women in our country, and in accordance with the principle of independence of the judiciary, the decision of justice was taken solely on the basis of the impartial application of the law," explains Haddad.

The Moroccan Association for Victims' Rights (AMDV) also asserted that Radi's arrest and sentence had nothing to do with freedom of expression but "consisted of rape and indecent assault committed against a colleague in the workplace".

Haddad stressed the "double standards" of the EU, which he called on to investigate the human rights situation in Algeria. "Algeria is shirking its human rights obligations and commitments and persists in serious human rights violations and the continued repression of Hirak activists, journalists and voices critical of the regime," he concluded. 

Despite criticism of the EU, Moroccan MEPs have thanked the Spanish politicians for their stance. Ahmed Touizi, representing the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM), which is part of the government coalition, thanked the Spanish Socialists for voting against the resolution. "This shows the commitment of some EU countries to further develop their friendly relations with Morocco", he stressed.