European Parliament Votes to Ban Moroccan Representatives Amid Corruption Scandal

It was by 401 votes in favor, 3 votes against and 133 abstentions that the European Parliament adopted on Thursday a new resolution hostile to Morocco. This adoption follows the outbreak of the corruption scandal shaking the European institution and in which the kingdom is cited. The deputies had asked to take measures to strengthen the integrity of the European institutions. Following this resolution, the MEPs asked that the measures taken against the representatives of Qatar be extended to those of Morocco.

These measures are: the suspension of the access passes of representatives of Qatari interests, until the judicial investigations provide relevant information and clarifications; the suspension of all work on legislative files relating to Qatar, in particular concerning the liberalization of the visa regime and the EU-Qatar aviation agreement, as well as the planned visits; the ban on access to the European hemicycle "until the judicial investigations provide relevant information and clarifications."

Reacting to this new resolution, Lahcen Haddad, co-chair of the EU-Morocco Joint Commission, denounces a gratuitous hostile act against Morocco motivated by the rejection of an amendment presented by the group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which stipulates the confirmation of the allegations of interference before the taking of measures against the kingdom.