Morocco Slams EU Parliament Resolution as ’Counterproductive’ in Spain Diplomatic Crisis

"Attempts to Europeanize this crisis are futile and in no way alter its purely bilateral nature, its root causes and Spain’s proven responsibility in triggering it," declares the head of Moroccan diplomacy in a statement, adding that the instrumentalization of the European Parliament in this crisis is counterproductive. According to Nasser Bourita, this resolution is far from contributing to the solution, as it is part of a short-sighted political one-upmanship. He denounces this maneuver, which aims to circumvent the debate on the root causes of the crisis, and fools no one.

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"The resolution is out of step with Morocco’s exemplary record in terms of migration cooperation with the European Union. Those very people who try to criticize Morocco in this area are actually the ones who benefit from the concrete and daily results of cooperation on the ground," comments Nasser Bourita. "Indeed, no one in Europe can question the quality of the partnership between the European Union and Morocco in all areas, including migration. The figures are there to confirm this (since 2017 alone, migration cooperation has prevented more than 14,000 attempts at irregular migration, dismantled 5,000 trafficking networks, rescued more than 80,500 migrants at sea and prevented countless attempts to storm the borders)," he explains.

According to him, Morocco does not need any endorsement in its management of migration. "The posture of the teacher and the student no longer works. Paternalism is a dead end, he hammers. It is not punishment or reward that induces behavior, but the conviction of shared responsibility." In the eyes of the Moroccan Foreign Minister, "the European Parliament resolution is, moreover, contrary to the spirit of the partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the European Union. By trying to stigmatize Morocco, it is actually the very principle of partnership that it is weakening. It demonstrates, on the scale of the EU’s southern neighborhood, that even the oldest and most accomplished constructions can be the subject of inopportune and opportunistic actions in the European Parliament."

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"While Morocco is satisfied with its relationship with the European Union, it considers that the problem remains with Spain, as long as the reasons for its triggering have not been resolved," says Moroccan diplomacy, insisting that Morocco has never judged the partnership with the EU on the basis of conjunctural incidents but on the basis of reliable long-term action. "Moreover, the position of the Member States of the Commission and the External Service has been constructive with regard to Morocco’s key role in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and the positive assessment of cooperation in the field of migration," notes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.