The former vice-president of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament (EP), Elena Valenciano, referred to Morocco as “the first link and anchor” of the Euro-African cooperation and as a “reliable and inescapable partner” for Europe.

In a tribune titled “What if our future passed through the South?” that was published on Saturday in the newspaper El Pas, Valenciano emphasized that “Morocco is the first link, the first anchor of this progressive integration” that Euro-African collaboration is going towards.

Unquestionably, one of the nations with which we have the closest neighborhood cooperation is Morocco. And properly so, given that Rabat frequently shapes the Euro-Mediterranean space’s strategy and the de facto interdependence that ties our fates to those of Africa, according to the former Socialist spokesman in the Spanish Congress of Deputies.

Morocco is familiar with the shared principles that formed the foundation of the European Union. “With Morocco, otherness often finds ways to regularly enrich the shores of the Mediterranean with the same ambition: that of moving forward together and that a mutual interest prevails, without any doubt at all,” Valenciano continued. “The difference in culture does not always correspond to a difference of choice or conviction.”

Before stating that “the multiplicity of the challenges we face justifies a review of the cooperation frameworks, to reinforce both their scope and their content,” he estimated that “the contexts have changed and with them the balance and dynamics governing the diplomatic vocation of our Union.”

“With Morocco, we have, perhaps more than ever, the opportunity to innovate, to set an example and to give new impetus to the meaning of history,” Valenciano said.

Read Also: Improved relations with Morocco raise Spain’s trade surplus by 34%

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European countries, including Italy, “need more than ever to strengthen their relations with Morocco,” wrote Friday the Italian media “Mediterranews“, criticizing “strongly” the political and media harassment of some parties against the Kingdom, a “safe and stable” ally in the region.

The Kingdom is one of the most stable nations in the Mediterranean, a region undergoing several threats, which tend to increase due to the economic crisis in Tunisia, likely to generate uncontrollable migration flows,” said the news site.

According to the website, “Italy must target reliable allies such as Morocco and move away from some parties that try to create separatism and instability, jeopardizing the situation in the region.

It also strongly denounced “a political and media harassment against Morocco, which advocates a soft foreign policy but naturally firm on central issues such as stability.

“The media campaign against Morocco does not serve the interests of Europe,” concluded Mediterranews.

Read Also: Morocco is a very stable country and a great ally of the United States (Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff)

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The Kingdom’s ambassador in Rome, Youssef Balla, called for a tripartite cooperation between Morocco, Africa and Europe for a sustainable agriculture, based on the latest digital technologies and a qualified workforce.

The objective of this partnership is to make sustainable agriculture an engine of economic development to ensure food security in Africa, the ambassador said at a meeting on “the evolution of Italian and European agribusiness between sustainability and welfare”, organized recently by the Italian Agency for Green Economy (GEA).

This cooperation could focus on two main areas, namely the promotion of new technologies and the professional training of a qualified workforce for the optimal use of these technologies, the diplomat noted, recommending the implementation of agro-ecological production techniques that effectively meet the needs of sustainable development in Africa.

According to Mr Balla, these production techniques will not only increase agricultural productivity, but also strengthen its resilience to the effects of climate change. They will thus contribute to reducing food and nutrition insecurity on the continent, he explained.

He said the food crisis, which is currently suffocating many populations and economies worldwide, is putting at risk the social fabric, supply chains, raw materials, food and the farmer himself. Sustainable agriculture in an innovative framework, based on research and creation, will help to meet these challenges, the diplomat stressed.

In this sense, he highlighted the new vision of the Kingdom in terms of agricultural development, embodied by the “Green Generation Strategy 2020-2030” which is a continuation of the “Green Morocco Plan”, implemented since 2008.

This roadmap is based on two pillars, namely strengthening the role of the human element through the emergence of a new generation of middle-class farmers and young entrepreneurs and developing a resilient and sustainable agricultural sector through the adoption of smart practices in the face of climate challenges, he said.

Based on the deep conviction of the imperative to strengthen the competitiveness of African agriculture in a world increasingly globalized and marked by multiple free trade agreements, Morocco is committed, as usual, to share all its experience and agricultural know-how with the countries of the continent, said the ambassador.

Morocco’s mandate within the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP), the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger in the world, was recently renewed for the third consecutive year as coordinator of the African Group. Unanimously endorsed by African countries, this re-election is a testimony to the trust placed in Morocco on the one hand, and to the Kingdom’s continued commitment to African causes on the other.

Read Also: Agriculture: the PMV and “Generation Green” are an effective response to climate change

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The “discriminatory” criteria and “humiliating treatment” for Moroccan visa applicants from European nations have been criticized by ten Moroccan groups. They specifically criticize France in an open letter in which they criticize the European Union’s visa regulations.

Ten organizations, including the National Forum for Youth and Democracy (INJD), a grouping of 16 young Moroccans from various political parties, the Prometheus Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, the Moroccan League for the Defense of Human Rights (LMDH), and the Moroccan Forum of Young Journalists (FMJJ), have urged European nations to review their visa policies.

The groups claim that “the freedom to free movement is taken hostage” and point out that actions like France’s decision to cut the number of Moroccan visas it issues by 50% are “a regressive retaliatory measure” and a “unacceptable consequence.”

The European representations in Morocco are the target of a number of criticisms, including “procedural inflation and the multiplication of categories and subcategories organized in cases, which burdens visa application procedures by making them more out-of-date, opaque, and susceptible to the scam of the services interposed for the processing of applications.”

Read Also: Algeria, a new EU entry point for irregular migrants

The associations explain that, despite assurances to the contrary, “instruction deadlines that remain extremely variable” and the “imterminable” waiting times still exist. They also criticize “the use of private operators who replace the French administration, which are not paid by the French State but by the applicants themselves,” as well as their disapproval of the idea that the costs of rejected files (with the exception of those that lack required documents) be covered by the applicants themselves.

The letter from the groups concludes by stating that, among the objections still being heard, “the outsourcing of the processing of visa applicants files does not adequately guarantee the confidentiality and security of personal data and in particular biometric identifiers.”

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Europa Oil & Gas, based in the United Kingdom, has announced its intention to seek investment to carry out an amodiation on its exploration permit for Inezgane, off the coast of Morocco, particularly in the Agadir basin.
According to Ecofin, the company recalled that this permit, in which it has a 75 percent stake alongside the National Board of Hydrocarbons and Mines (25 percent), “shares the same reservoirs and source rocks as the major oil and gas discoveries off West Africa.”
It was reported that the 11,228-square-kilometer license was granted in September 2019. Europa Oil & Gas has already identified thirty potential hydrocarbon carriers. The company recently reported finding significant resources “only in the top five wells.”
“We are pleased to announce the launch of the Farmout initiative of the Inezgane Licence which represents not only a high-impact exploration opportunity for Europa but also sits comfortably within the Company’s strategy of creating a balanced portfolio of complementary assets” said the company’s CEO, Simon Oddie.

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This Wednesday morning, Royal Air Maroc (RAM) announced that July tickets are sold out. This regards flights from European countries with large Moroccan communities.

The aforementioned company announced, via Twitter, that “flights from France, Italy, Belgium and Holland are saturated in July”, adding that tickets are still available for August and September.

Flights from France, Italy, Belgium and Holland are saturated in July. Large availability for arrivals in August and September.

— Royal Air Maroc (@RAM_Maroc) June 16, 2021

The unprecedented demand for tickets after the royal intervention in order to reduce prices and facilitate the entry of the Moroccans residing abroad made some surprised that tickets had run out from international destinations, especially after the company released what it called a historical and unprecedented system to receive Moroccans in implementation of the royal instructions.

In a related context, the RAM invited customers to search for alternative dates in the event that they did not find available seats on the desired dates, and it also stated that in the event that tickets for some flights are unavailable on certain dates, more than 70%t of the summer capacity remains available for marketing.

In accordance with royal instructions, the RAM offered round-trip tickets at a price of 97 euros for all flights coming from Europe, except for Russia and Turkey. As a result, the company revealed it sold 120,000 tickets in one day.

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The French parliamentarian, Laurent Garcia, confirmed yesterday, March 24th that the European recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Sahara will not take long to come.

“The United States has taken a step ahead of the Europeans regarding Moroccan Sahara,” said Garcia, who is also the Deputy-Mayor of Laxou (Meurthe-et-Moselle), during talks with the Consul General of Morocco in Strasbourg, Driss El Kaissi. “I think that the idea will find its way in Europe by looking at our history and our common future, on the human and continental levels.”

The French MP praised “the role the Kingdom plays as a bridge between Europe and Africa,” stressing the distinction of the existing relations between Morocco and France, their history and their “common future that should be embodied.”

On this occasion, Garcia also praised the efforts made by His Majesty King Mohammed VI for the development of the Kingdom, both on international and regional levels.
With regard to relations with the European Union, the French parliamentarian affirmed that it is in Europe’s full interest to continue to link “strong relations, based on respect, first and foremost, with Morocco.”

It should be noted that Laurent Garcia belongs to the Democratic Movement party. He is also a member of the Commission for Cultural Affairs and Education, and the Commission for the Modernization of Audiovisual Broadcasting of the French National Assembly.

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The Ambassador of Morocco to Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Mohamed Ameur, stressed last Thursday March 18th, that Europe must show a stronger commitment in favor of the settlement of the regional conflict around the Moroccan Sahara.

“It is time for Europe to get more involved in the resolution of this conflict and to commit to supporting the proposal for autonomy in the Southern Provinces presented by Morocco,” said the ambassador, during a meeting via videoconference organized by the Belgian Artistic and Royal Circle.

Ameur insisted on the fact that the European Union could “not afford to have a position of negative neutrality”, indicating that in the face of security, migration and climate issues and the threats weighing on the region, Europe must be involved in the process of overcoming this blockage to regain unity.

“Due to its geographical, historical and cultural proximity, Europe is directly impacted by this conflict”, explained the ambassador, describing the fact that more and more voices were raised in recent times in Europe in order to advance the resolution of this artificial dispute.

During this videoconference organized under the theme: “the recognition by the United States of Moroccan sovereignty over the Saharan provinces: meaning and scope”, Mohamed Ameur returned to the American decision which, according to him, falls within “a perspective of peace and a logic of solution “.

The American recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara has broken the status quo and triggered a positive dynamic at the international level, welcomed the ambassador.

Recalling the opening by several countries of consulates in the southern provinces, Mohamed Ameur underlined the growing support for the Moroccan proposal for autonomy and for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, emphasizing the need to consolidate this dynamic and to support the autonomy initiative in the southern provinces under the sovereignty of Morocco, with a view to bringing this issue out of the deadlock.

The Ambassador also highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts to resolve this conflict that has dragged on for nearly half a century and its commitment to the political process under the auspices of the United Nations. Morocco, he said, has always expressed its good will and favored a process of “negotiation and compromise” to achieve a consensual outcome to this conflict.

The diplomat also highlighted the strong socio-economic development dynamic initiated in the Southern Provinces which has enabled this region to become a pole of influence and prosperity in Morocco and Africa.

Finally, the ambassador shed light on the significant efforts made by the Kingdom under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed V, and the intervention of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) to restore and preserve security and secure movement of people and goods in the buffer zone of El Guerguerat, recalling that Morocco, which reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire, carried out this operation peacefully and in accordance with international law.

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