Strasbourg, February 16, 2012 (MAP)
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Wednesday urged the European Parliament to vote in favor of free trade agreement between Morocco and the EU on agricultural products.
Morocco-EU agriculture free trade agreement, “for which I urge you to vote,” Juppe told MEPs, should be submitted to approval on Thursday by the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg (eastern France).
French top diplomat took this favorable position during his speech to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, marked by a plea for increased support from Europe to its southern partners, in the context of the “spring Arab.”
He said the EU should contribute to the “stabilization of its great southern neighborhood” in the wake of changes introduced by the “Arab Spring.”
“Today, if we know that the path to democracy is long and demanding, we also know that the desire for democracy is universal. Therefore, without ever compromising on its values, the EU must support Arab transitions with all instruments it (Europe) has,” he said.
Europe must, according to Juppe, “encourage democratic values, support transitions and help economic recovery, with balanced partnerships taking into account the specific requirements of each.”
