Brussels, June 20, 2011
Brussels, June 20, 2011
The European Commission welcomed, on Monday, Morocco’s new draft constitution, which was announced by King Mohammed VI in a speech to the nation, saying that the new constitutional amendments represent “a major step forward on the path of already launched reforms.”, the Maghreb Arab Press news agency reported.
“The draft constitution announced by HM the King of Morocco is a major step and evidences a clear commitment to the Kingdom’s already launched reform process,” The Commission’s Spokesperson Catherine Ray told MAP.
The new draft constitution provides for “the separation of powers, the reinforcement of the government’s role, the independence of the judiciary, in addition to regionalization and equal rights for men and women,” Ray added.
Once it is implemented, “the new constitution will represent major progress in terms of already launched reforms,” she said.
The European Union (EU) described, on Sunday, the new draft constitution as “a major step which evidences a clear commitment to democracy and the respect for human rights.”
“We praise the announcement made by the King of Morocco of the main provisions of the new constitution, which will be put to a referendum on July 1st, 2011,” said EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, and EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Füle.