Morocco has called on the EU to raise bilateral relations to the level of ‘special partnership’. “Morocco, which has always attached special importance to its relationship with the European Union, is committed to pursuing this reliable, exemplary, mutually beneficial cooperation, which is indicative of the nature of my country’s relations with Europe. Morocco believes such a statutory development in its relationship with the European Union ought to lead to a privileged partnership,” said the Moroccan King, Mohammed VI, in a letter send to the first EU-Morocco summit, held on 6 and 7 March in Granada. The royal address, seen by Europolitics, was read by Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, who chaired the Moroccan delegation to the meeting. In response, the EU agreed to “begin a process of reflection” on the “future ‘contractual’ form” of its relations with Morocco, said the Spanish EU Presidency’s website.

At a press conference that followed the summit, Spanish Prime Minister José Luís Zapatero, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, stressed the need for “Morocco to reach optimum proximity to the EU” by means of political modernisation and opening up the economy, and for both the EU and Morocco to get involved in a coordinated way, more and more often, with matters of global interest.

Over a year ago, in October 2008, Morocco signed an agreement with the EU granting the North African country advanced status in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The EU offered Rabat a package of measures aimed at bringing the country closer to Europe than any other countries from the Southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. In the long term, this advanced status paves the way for Morocco to integration into the EU market similarly to Norway or Switzerland, according to the road map attached to the agreement.

WESTERN SAHARA

Van Rompuy called on Morocco to make progress in respecting human rights, including in the disputed Western Sahara region. He said the European Union is closely monitoring related developments as “many Europeans are very concerned about those aspects”. He said the “EU fully supports the United Nations’ efforts to find a solid political solution” and added that “the EU will continue to play an active role in the humanitarian tasks of the conflict”.

Morocco has occupied Western Sahara - a former Spanish colony - since 1975, when Moroccan forces invaded the territory, sparking a war with Algerian-backed Polisario guerrillas (a left-leaning independence movement). There has been a cease-fire in effect since 1991, but the UN-sponsored talks on Western Sahara’s future have since made no headway, with Rabat pledging widespread autonomy for the region, but ruling out independence.