French MP Urges EU to Restore Morocco’s Travel-Safe Status Amid COVID Debate

"Enough! Morocco, Algeria and other West African countries are managing the health situation better than many European countries!" thunders the deputy in a press release. The decision to remove Morocco from the list of safe countries follows the surge in Covid-19 cases in the kingdom. But the MP questions the elements taken into account by the members of the Council of the European Union - the sole decision-making authority - and the scientific relevance of their decision.

"If we currently deplore 461 deaths in Morocco (Saturday, August 8) related to the pandemic, the figure remains six times lower than what we have known in France and in most other European countries. Moreover, we count more than 21,000 recoveries," he argues, thus showing that the kingdom does not deserve to be removed from this list. "In addition, Moroccan Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb recently listed a whole set of measures to curb this upward trend. Among these measures, the state of health emergency throughout the territory has been extended until September 10," added the French deputy.

According to M’jid El Guerrab, Morocco is not an isolated case. "While several African countries had announced the reopening of their air borders, many have ultimately applied the principle of reciprocity to all states that have taken measures against them. This is the case of Senegal, which has recorded 229 deaths. We can also mention Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea or Mauritania which have respectively recorded 104, 125, 54, 50 and 157 deaths," he said, stressing that only Tunisia remains on the EU green list.

For the deputy, the restrictions imposed by the European Union are leading to dramatic situations for many people prevented from returning to their country. Similarly, they are causing alarming consequences on the economy of these states for which the tourism sector is sometimes vital, foremost among them Morocco. Given this impact, M’jid El Guerrab calls for the reintegration of the Maghreb countries, West African countries into the EU green list during its next review and calls for other African countries to also be taken into account.