Lahcen Haddad to Head the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee

Rabat – Former ministers Lahcen Haddad and Mohammed Moubdi have been appointed to head the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors for Morocco’s parliament, respectively Rachid Talbi Alami and Naama Mayara, chaired a meeting on December 9 to restructure the Moroccan delegation of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee.

The parliamentarians’ members of the committee decided to entrust the chairmanship of the committee to parliamentary advisor Lahcen Haddad, and the vice-presidency to former minister Mohamed Moubdi.

During the meeting, Haddad stressed the need to adopt a new approach in line with the current composition of the Moroccan Parliament, expressing his readiness to give a strong impetus to Moroccan-European relations.

When asked about the appointment, Haddad told Morocco World News that he is excited, yet aware of the big task ahead where he aims to create space for debate and shared dialogue.

In their speech, Talbi Alami and Mayara stressed the mutual attachment to the exemplary, rich and multidimensional Euro-Moroccan partnership, the result of a sustained effort that has spanned nearly half a century. Alami and Mayara emphasized the importance of preserving and developing the partnership’s political, social, economic, and security aspects.

They also highlighted the importance of strengthening dialogue for a coordinated response to issues of common interest such as irregular immigration, security, and counter-terrorism challenges.

The two representatives stressed the need to boost opportunities for cooperation, especially in the current epidemiological context of COVID-19 and its socio-economic challenges.

Haddad told MWN that it is important to rethink the good neighbor policy, emphasizing the need to ensure mutual friendly and beneficial relations between Morocco and European countries.

“We would like to make the partnership mutually interesting for all parties including the political level,” he said, noting that his ambition is “to explain the Moroccan position while understanding European points of interest.”

The meeting was also an opportunity to assess the achievements of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission and discuss future projects and means to further strengthen political and parliamentary cooperation between Morocco and Europe.

The EU is Morocco’s largest trade partner, accounting for 56% of its goods trade in 2019.

Despite a few tensions that have arisen between the two sides, many officials from the North African country and the European Parliament reiterated the need to deepen the cordial relations and maintain the Morocco-EU strategic cooperation in different fields.