EU committed to strengthening relations with Morocco, say von der Leyen and Borrell

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borell reaffirmed, Friday in a joint statement, the EU’s commitment to further preserving and strengthening its close relations with Morocco in all areas, in accordance with the principle “pacta sunt servanda” (Conventions must be respected).

“In close cooperation with Morocco, the EU firmly intends to preserve and continue to strengthen its close relations with Morocco in all areas of the Morocco-EU partnership, in accordance with the principle pacta sunt servanda,” affirmed Ms. von der Leyen and Ms. . Borrell, in this joint declaration, the highest political act of the EU, following the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the fishing and agricultural agreements between Morocco and the EU.

It is also a rare act which underlines the importance of Morocco and materializes the importance of the EU’s partnership with the Kingdom.

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The two officials reiterated the “great value” that the EU attaches to “its strategic partnership with Morocco, which is long-standing, broad and deep”, stressing that the two parties have established, over the years, “a deep friendship and solid, multifaceted cooperation, which we intend to take to a higher level in the weeks and months to come.”

They also indicated that Brussels “takes note” of the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the appeals against the judgment of the General Court of September 29, 2021 as well as the response to the request for a preliminary ruling relating to the labeling of fruits and vegetables from the southern provinces of the Kingdom, adding that the European Commission is “currently analyzing the judgments in detail”.

“In this context, we note that the European Court of Justice maintains the validity of the Agreement on Agricultural Products for a further period of 12 months,” the joint statement said.