Brussels – The European Union (EU) has reaffirmed the “utmost importance” it attaches to its fisheries partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco and the “essential interest” it has in its continuation, in a “spirit of trust, solidarity and mutual interest”.

In addition, it emphasized that relations with Morocco in the area of fisheries “are part of a global and mutually beneficial partnership, which makes Morocco and the EU strategic partners for stability, development, and prosperity in the region” in a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the Joint Commission’s 5th session, which was held Thursday in Brussels.

This fifth meeting, which was held in accordance with the Partnership Agreement for Sustainable Fisheries between Morocco and the European Union, allowed for an overall evaluation of the four years of the Fisheries Protocol’s implementation, which ends on July 17 in accordance with its Article 16.

Nasser Bourita, the minister of foreign affairs, African cooperation, and Moroccan expatriates, had stated at a press conference in Rabat on Wednesday following the conclusion of the third ministerial meeting of the Atlantic African States Process that the Kingdom would decide on the future of its cooperation with the EU in the fisheries sector after considering its own evaluations and seeking input from European partners.

The protocol’s implementation was also deemed “satisfactory” by Bourita, who added that the past four years of cooperation have been “positive and mutually beneficial.”

Read Also: Guinean FM Morissanda Kouyaté appoints Consul General in the city of Dakhla

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For the crop year 2022-2023, wheat exports from the European Union are now primarily going to Morocco.

As the war between Russia and Ukraine eased the wheat market, sales to other nations have been impeded by resurgent competition in the Black Sea.

Morocco has grown to be a more significant market than normal for EU wheat due to rising import demands following a drought-plagued harvest.

According to Reuters, the nation intends to import 1.5 million more tons of soft wheat between March and May.

According to the same source, France, the largest wheat producer in the EU, has been able to sell the majority of an excess of non-EU exports estimated at just over 10 million tons thanks to consistent demand from Morocco and good sales to Algeria, China, and Egypt.

Since the middle of the season, the Black Sea has once again been a major competitor, the news agency notes.

While Russia has found markets for its record 2022 crop, Ukrainian levels are backed by a Black Sea passage during times of conflict.

Read Also: Foreign Ministry recalled diaspora care following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

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Shocking figures revealed by the website “visa Schengen”, dedicated to news, updates and statistics of Schengen visas, on the expenses of Moroccans during the year 2021 on visa applications to enter different European countries.

According to the same source, Moroccans paid at least 3 million euros in 2021 for visa applications at one of the embassies and consulates of Schengen countries in Morocco, but did not receive them.

He pointed out that although Morocco is the fifth most requested country in the world for Schengen visas, after the Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia, it has the highest rejection rate among these five countries.

Schengen representatives in Morocco rejected a total of 157 thousand one hundred Moroccan visa applications for the region during the same year, which represents 27.6% of the total applications submitted, while the rejection rate in the first four countries was 3.2%, 16.9%, 2.7% and 4.3%, respectively.

Figures from the same source indicate that the French state is the Schengen country most rejected by Moroccans for obtaining a visa, since out of 58310 applications submitted in 2021, this European country rejected 20369, equivalent to 35%.

Spain comes second in terms of the number of rejected applications, but this is much lower than in France, as out of 84,499 Schengen visa applications submitted to the Iberian state, 15,137 were rejected, which is equivalent to 18 per cent.

In this context, Besart Bajrami, founder of the “SchengenVisaInfo” website, said that if we take into account that the cost of a unified, non-refundable Schengen visa application is 80 euros, Moroccans have spent at least 3 million euros on visas that they have not obtained, even though this amount may be twice as high.

“3 million is not even close to the actual amount Moroccans spend on applying for Schengen visas,” he added, referring in this context to a set of additional expenses Moroccans are forced to pay for the preparation of their application file and the required documents, which are mostly covered by a third party (visa filing agencies).

Moroccans are also obliged to pay for travel insurance, they often book hotels and flights with non-refundable fees, as well as paying a small amount here and there for other documents they have to provide, so, adds the same expert, “it is difficult to calculate the total amount spent in this regard in 2021, but the amount of visa fees is at least 3 million euros”, notes Bajrami.

Overall, France, Spain and Germany are the three Schengen countries responsible for the majority of rejected Schengen visas in 2021, where 252,522 applications were rejected out of a total of 379,207 applications rejected for the rest of the region.

Read Also: NGOs condemn ‘discriminatory’ visa conditions for Moroccan applicants

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The European Union (EU) and Morocco indicated their intention to enhance their relationship on Thursday in Rabat. This came as part of the two nations’ strategic collaboration, which His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God help him, places a high value on.

According to a statement from the department of the Head of Government, this willingness was demonstrated during conversations between Aziz Akhannouch, the Head of Government, and Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who is currently visiting Morocco.

On this occasion, Akhannouch praised the development of links between the EU and the Kingdom, which helped to organize their relationship and enhance it on several fronts.

In this respect, he praised the successful outcomes of the collaboration in the fields of finance, investment, the green economy, migration, and security.

The Head of Government also commended the level of trade between the two parties, which has allowed Morocco to establish itself as the first economic and commercial partner of the European Union on the African continent. Trade between the two parties tripled in size over the course of ten years, reaching more than 45 billion euros in 2021.

Akhannouch also expressed his satisfaction with the harmony and concordance between the Moroccan government’s agenda for social and economic reforms, which is being led by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God be with Him; and the support given to these initiatives by the European Union, with an eye toward the implementation of some of them in 2023.

Borrell is in Morocco on an official visit that aims to provide him the chance to have a thorough conversation on the implementation of the EU-Morocco partnership, especially how it relates to the new Mediterranean Agenda.

The long-standing alliance between Morocco and the European Union has grown in recent years and is now a model for the EU’s neighboring strategy.

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The Mediterranean Chamber of Maritime Fisheries (CPMM) stressed that the General Court of the European Union (EU) ruling on the agricultural and fisheries agreements with Morocco is “political in nature.”

“The impact from this decision, because it appears political in character in its content, and corresponds with the initiatives taken by Morocco at the regional and international levels to develop its strategic partnerships,” the Chamber said in a news release.

It expressed its delight at the European Court of Justice’s judgment on the agricultural and fishing agreements with Morocco, emphasizing that the EU is the first to benefit from fishing in Moroccan seas, due to a fleet of ships.

Such decisions cannot disrupt the ties that unite maritime fishing professionals on both sides, especially when it is a first-time decision and the file has already been exposed to the same scenario. According to the same source, the decision was made in 2015 before being overturned by the Court of Appeal.

In this context, the Chamber stated that “the European Court’s ruling remains an improper involvement in foreign policy between sovereign States, especially because it ignores the tremendous development enjoyed by the southern provinces.” At a time when international diplomatic missions are progressively establishing themselves at the level of these provinces, the Kingdom, as well as the field considerations of the ocean fishing sector in the Moroccan Sahara.

In addition, the Mediterranean Chamber of Maritime Fisheries expressed its “confidence in the EU-Morocco relations and cooperation, contrary to the wishes of the enemies of territorial integrity,” noting that “the development of partnerships and the stability of commercial relations between the two parties must take place within a clear legal framework, far from political espionage,” and that “the development of partnerships and the stability of commercial relations between the two parties must take place within a clear legal framework, far from political espionage.”

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Claude Kern, Senator of Bas-Rhin, Vice-President of the European Affairs Commission at the French Senate, emphasized that it was time for France and the European Union to support Morocco in its position regarding the Sahara issue.

In a statement after talks with Consul General of Morocco in Strasbourg, Driss El Kaissi. Kern stressed that “Morocco is today, for France and Europe, a real bridge with Africa.”

Kern, who is also a member of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), highlighted that Morocco is also a key partner for Europe in the fields of security and immigration, calling on his country’s government to support the Kingdom, in order to support its position on the Sahara issue.

After praising the leadership and insight of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the policy of openness pursued by His Majesty, the French senator shed light on the distinguished relations between Morocco and France and the position the Kingdom occupies in the international relations of his country.

On a final note, Kern added that it is “important that Moroccan-French relations continue to be strengthened in the field of foreign policy,” praising in this regard all the efforts that are being made in this field.

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Madrid – Spain’s Health Ministry decided to register residents who wish not to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and share that information with the rest of the EU.

Salvador Illa, Spain’s Minister of Health, stressed that the vaccine would not be mandatory. Still, he also mentioned that the ministry would make a register containing the names and other information about Spanish residents who refuse to take the vaccine when called up for by the Spanish public health service.

The minister also said that this would not be a public document and will be treated with the highest respect of data privacy.

In his reasoning, Illa added that to beat the virus, it is best we all got vaccinated, “the more, the better.” He also said that vaccinating against the virus should be considered an act of solidarity toward our loved ones and our citizenship.

Spain has recently launched its vaccination program in which they plan to vaccinate two and a half million people between January and March of next year. The Spanish vaccination program will prioritize residents of nursing homes and the health care professionals who work there.

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As Morocco celebrates US President Donald Trump’s recognition of the kingdom’s sovereignty over the Sahara, the European Union stands firm with the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions on the disputed region.

The EU was not all that happy with Trump’s unforeseen December 10 declaration. The Union regards the disputed region as “a non-self-governing territory […] for which a dedicated UN process is ongoing to determine its final status and which the EU supports,” as put by European External Action Service Spokesperson Peter Stano.

Peter Stano was not the only EU Parliament member who criticized Trump’s decision and called for a “just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution” to the Sahara conflict.

Mario Mauro, former Defense Minister of Italy and member of the European Parliament, said that the EU was “caught like a sitting duck” by Trump’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over its Sahara, emphasizing that the EU must speed up its Southern Neighborhood Strategy in line with the recent events.

In his opinion piece to EU news network, Euractiv, Mauro pointed out that Trump’s decision could be seen as a provocation against the UN. The former minister also sees that Trump’s action could be a wake-up call for Europe or the EU which “has been granting,” he reminds, “preferential tariffs to Western Sahara through its agreement with Morocco, helping the socio-economic development of the local populations.”

Mauro asserted that the EU does not need to side with Trump nor disown the UN in the context of the Sahara issue, however, it should “consider real, concrete security and stability aspects when applying its values,”  while also not being blinded by ideology.

Mauro went on questioning EU’s role in its Southern Neighborhood, namely in Africa. The European Neighborhood Policy ties 10 partner countries including Morocco to the EU through programs that involve economic development, state-building, migration, social protection, democratic development, and rule of law and good governance.

“If European citizens asked EU policymakers ‘what is our plan?’” Mauro wrote, “the EU and its Member States would answer that we support the UN-led peace process in Western Sahara, as we have for 40 years.”

US recognition of Rabat’s claim over the Sahara was part of the agreement between Israel and Morocco to normalize relations.

The agreement is already bearing fruit as Morocco and the US-Israeli delegation signed last Tuesday in Rabat a declaration to resume official contacts with Israel.

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The European Union’s top court ruled today Thursday that Hungary violated the law by depriving immigrants from seeking asylum and moving many to transit camps.

“Hungary has failed to fulfill its obligations under EU law in the area of procedures for granting international protection,” the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said.

In 2015 and 2017, the country passed controversial laws that created transit zones on Hungary’s border with Serbia, mandating that all asylum applications must be filed in the camps,

The laws also introduced the concept of a “crisis situation caused by mass immigration,” which the government used to justify circumventing EU asylum law. The government said its strict policies were necessary to maintain public order and preserve internal security. But the 2015 migration crisis did not justify Hungary’s decision to override EU rules.

In particular, Hungary’s policies present a breach of the EU directives on procedures, reception, and return. These directives lay down for all EU member states the common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection, the reception of asylum seekers as well as procedures for returning those who are staying in the country illegally.

The court found Hungary did not allow asylum seekers to leave detention while their cases were considered and offered no special protection to children and the vulnerable and stated that EU member countries cannot “delay asylum applications unjustifiably.”

Where asylum claims have been rejected, in some cases “those nationals are forcibly escorted, by the police, from the other side of a fence erected a few meters from the border with Serbia, to a strip of land devoid of any infrastructure.”

This was deemed a breach of an EU directive establishing safeguards for the removal of illegal immigrants.

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The French politician, Jean-Louis Borloo, considered that the European Union should follow “the same path” and also recognize the full sovereignty of Morocco over the Sahara, as the US administration did, seeking to close this file once and for all.

The former member of the European Parliament said in a statement, “The European Union must understand that Morocco is not only a distinguished partner but a very vital partner in relations between Europe and Africa,” expressing his hope that the American decision will have “an impact” on countries in the European Union, chiefly France.

For Mr. Borloo, who held several ministerial positions, especially economic and financial ones, the American recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara is the culmination of “a complete path for the Moroccan people, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and his father, His Majesty King Hassan II.”
He stressed that this announcement comes to “completely change the situation,” as it will have “good” repercussions on the region.

“There is something that raises emotion. This region (the Sahara) is extremely wonderful and promising in terms of economic development, and this completely changes the situation. This justifies His Majesty’s vision regarding investments, especially the port of Dakhla, and then making this area an energy pole for part of The Sahel countries and beyond – the first renewable energy center in the world.
“For the entire population of this region, I think it is wonderful,” he added.

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