The Moroccan parliament decides to reconsider its relations with the European Parliament

Source: MAP

The Moroccan parliament has decided to reconsider its relations with the European Parliament and subject them to a comprehensive assessment to take appropriate and firm decisions, following the recent positions issued by the European Parliament towards Morocco.

This was stated in a joint statement that the speaker of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi Alami, and the chairman of the Council of Advisors, Naam Mayara, read at the conclusion of a plenary session on Monday afternoon.

The parliament also decided to inform the presidency of the European Parliament of the minutes of this meeting, including the positions and interventions made by the chairmen and representatives of parliamentary groups and non-affiliated parliamentarians during this meeting, and also to inform the presidency of the European Parliament of the decisions to be taken later.

The EU Parliament’s vote on a recommendation dated January 19, 2023, which was the most recent development in the biased campaign against Morocco, was denounced by the kingdom’s parliament.

Indeed, this recommendation is perceived with great surprise and indignation, as it has destroyed the level of trust between the Moroccan and European legislative institutions and has touched the heart of positive accumulations that have taken several decades to achieve.

The Moroccan Parliament regrets that the European Parliament has given in to some hostile parties in its midst and dragged it into their misleading campaign aimed at an old and credible partner, which plays major roles in the protection of rights and freedoms and the defense of regional and international peace and security, and which is regarded as a pillar of stability and a pillar of good relations and understanding between peoples, civilizations and cultures.

In the light of this serious deviation of an institution that assumes sobriety and the ability to distinguish between facts and sophistry, and to work to consolidate the supremacy of principles and the preservation of rights and legislations, in full respect of the sovereignty of partner countries, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco, with all its components, strongly condemns the hostile attempts to undermine the interests and image of Morocco, as well as the distinguished and long-standing relations between Morocco and the European Union, based on common values and principles, and mutual interests.

Moreover, it considers the recommendation of the European Parliament as an unacceptable encroachment on its competences and powers, and an unacceptable encroachment on its sovereignty, inviolability and independence of its judicial institutions, expressing its absolute rejection of the tendencies of trusteeship or of receiving lessons from any party, whatever the level of the relations it maintains with the kingdom

For its part, the Moroccan parliament, all components and all political tendencies, expresses its disappointment at the negative attitude and unconstructive role played, during the discussions in the European Parliament and consultations on the draft recommendation hostile to our country, by some political groups belonging to a country that is a historical partner of Morocco. It deplores these attitudes and practices which have nothing to do with the honesty and sincerity required by the spirit of partnership.

The statement stressed that the Parliament of the kingdom of Morocco does not need to reaffirm the kingdom’s commitment to human rights as internationally recognized, as the kingdom is distinguished in its regional environment by the dynamism of its civil society, the vitality of its media arena, the credibility of its institutions and independent mechanisms effective in the field of the rights of individuals and groups, as well as its active commitment to relevant international charters, and its progress, with all its will, in consolidating and strengthening the state of institutions, law and law, within the framework of multiparty and political, and freedom of opinion and expression.

It is noted that the Moroccan parliament is concerned with preserving rights and freedoms and the means for their full exercise, by exercising legislative power, voting on laws, monitoring government action and evaluating public policies.

The Moroccan parliament also reaffirms its competence to legislate in areas such as the fundamental rights and freedoms stipulated in the Foreword and the chapters of the Kingdom’s Constitution for the year 2011, foremost among which are the protection of the human rights system, the promotion and contribution to development, taking into account the universal nature of these rights and their indivisibility

Recalling that the Moroccan parliament is a key actor in many parliamentary, regional, regional and international organizations and enjoys membership in them, he emphasizes that no partner institution has ever exceeded its competencies and dared to a sovereign state and its institutions and interfered in its internal affairs, but is committed to respecting its independence and consolidating mutual Institutional Trust.

The Moroccan parliament stressed that it has always been a space for dialogue and multidimensional communication, as it has hosted many multilateral conferences and public and thematic meetings, internationally, Continental and regional, centered on current issues such as the fight against terrorism, the defense of peace, democracy, migration, human rights, the environment, the integration of youth in development, equality between men and women and others, and considers that many joint parliamentary projects and programs between the two institutions are now the subject of question and accountability in light of the recent recommendation of the European Parliament, as parliamentary coordination in several axes and issues, raises the problem of trust, is the European Parliament still A strategic partner of the Moroccan parliament.

The Kingdom’s parliament, expressed its rejection of the exploitation and politicization of cases that are the core competence of the criminal judiciary and fall within the scope of issues of public right, in which judicial verdicts have been issued on charges that are not at all related to any journalistic activity or the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression, but relate to crimes such as trafficking in human beings, sexual abuse and exploitation of the vulnerability of people, punishable by the laws of various countries of the world. In this regard, the Moroccan parliament stresses the need to respect the inviolability and independence of the Moroccan judiciary, which has always been keen to provide the conditions and components of a fair trial.

“The decision of the European Parliament has undermined the foundations of trust and cooperation between the Moroccan parliament and the European Parliament, and affected the positive accumulations achieved over decades of joint work, at a time when we were all looking forward to new and promising prospects in relations between the two institutions for greater efficiency and coordination in the common interest of our peoples,”the statement added.

The Moroccan parliament considered that the recommendation of the European Parliament denied all institutional mechanisms for dialogue and coordination, which were specifically created to be a space for dialogue and comprehensive and frank discussion within the framework of partnership and mutual respect; thus, it emptied them of their content and lost their meaning, and disregarded the contents and decisions of bilateral and multilateral meetings, and the tireless efforts of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, since its establishment in October 2010, which concretely dedicated the parliamentary dimension of the partnership between Morocco and the European Union, and she played an important role in strengthening and institutionalizing relations between the two parliaments Moroccan and European.

In the end, the Moroccan parliament called on European political forces to show wisdom and sobriety and to reject the deliberate confusion between the human rights protected in Morocco by the Constitution, laws and institutions, on the one hand, and the discredited allegations promoted by some parties and organizations known for their hostile positions towards Morocco, on the other.

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