Agricultural and fisheries agreements: Several MEPs reaffirm their support for the “strategic” partnership with Morocco

In tweets , these MEPs stressed that the agricultural and fishing agreements between Morocco and the EU directly benefited the populations of the Moroccan Sahara, insisting that the Polisario has no legitimacy to contest these agreements.
Belgian MEP Frédérique Ries judged the EU court’s decision to be “disappointing” and “in contrast to the efforts made on the field ”, noting that“ we must take into account the political realities of the Sahara issue and avoid the traps of the Polisario ”.
“We must reassure our Moroccan partner as much as the European fishermen active in these waters: the time has come to deepen our relations, and not the other way around, ”added Ms. Ries.
Bulgarian MEP Petar Vitanov for his part indicated that Morocco is “the most stable and reliable country in the region, especially in terms of security, migration and trade” , insisting that “we must give it our full support.”
“I am convinced that the EU and Morocco will remain united to defend their partnership and their agreements against external actors, ”he said.
Same story for Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev, who affirmed that the EU and Morocco are key partners in many important areas such as economy, trade, security, energy transition regional stability and must further strengthen their cooperation.

He also recalled that the reports of the VS European Commission confirm the benefits of agricultural and fishing agreements for the population of the Moroccan Sahara.
Hungarian László Trócsányi also expressed “strong” support for “strategic” relations between Morocco and the EU, while Polish MEP Anna Fotyga insisted that the EU tribunal’s ruling “ cannot impact strategic relationships, bring uncertainty to businesses and harm the local population. ”

“The Polisario is a destabilizing element in the region. It has neither the legitimacy nor the representative quality to attack the EU-Morocco agreements ”, she added.
Bulgarian MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk reiterated that “Morocco is a strong neighbor of Europe and a source of stability and security”, stressing that the EU and Morocco must remain united and pursue their strategic and economic partnership. ”
Czech MEP Tomáš zdechovský his part stressed that “Morocco is a key partner of the EU in the neighborhood and the most stable country in the region”, saying that it is convinced that Rabat and Brussels “will remain united to defend their partnership and their agreements against external actors.
The court of the European Union rendered, on Wednesday, its judgment at first instance concerning the appeal for annulment of European Council decisions concerning agricultural and fisheries agreements with Morocco.
The tribunal annuls these decisions “by maintaining their effects for a certain period in order to preserve the external action of the European Union and the legal certainty of its international commitments”, we read in the press release of the court reporting on this decision.