EU Leadership Reshuffle: New Appointees Have Strong Ties to Morocco

The German, Ursula Von Der Leyen, was elected to head the European Commission, the Frenchwoman, Christine Lagarde, to the European Central Bank, the Belgian, Charles Michel, to the European Council, the Spaniard, Josep Borell, to head European diplomacy and, finally, the Italian, David-Maria Sassoli, to the Presidency of the European Parliament.

The links of the five personalities with the Kingdom are likely to ensure continuity in Moroccan-European relations.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had always praised Morocco’s efforts in the context of "diversification and promotion of exports and public investment, particularly in the automotive, aeronautics and electronics sectors". She also defended the Kingdom for hosting the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, scheduled for 2021, describing it as a "Point of Convergence".

For his part, Josep Borell supported the Moroccan file in Brussels, with a view to seeking European aid for the regulation of illegal immigration. In addition, during the visit of the King of Spain to Morocco, the former Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs had signed a strategic partnership with Nasser Bourita, describing the Moroccan-Spanish relationship as a "model".

The former Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel, was a fervent supporter of the Marrakech Pact on Migration. Shaken by the various European nationalist parties, he finally imposed his point of view, explaining his presence "as a strong act", adding that "Belgium will be there again on the side of history".

While the German Minister of Defense, Ursula Van Der Leyer, remains the only unknown on the chessboard, the Italian David Sassoli had piloted two plenary sessions in Strasbourg in favor of Morocco, in particular the Morocco-EU Agricultural Agreement, signed on January 16, 2019, and the fisheries agreement on February 12.