Rabat – Kaja Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy renewed the EU’s commitment and determination to continue boosting ties with Morocco today following a phone conversation with Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita.
“I know we can rely on Morocco to strengthen our longstanding relationship and face challenges together,” Kallas said, describing the discussion with the Moroccan foreign minister as “useful.”
Kallas made her remarks on X, , saying that the talks on the situation in the Middle East reflected the important role played by Morocco under King Mohammed VI’s leadership.
The EU official’s call with Bourita is her first with a senior official from the Maghreb and Africa region since taking up her new position in early December.
For years, the EU has been expressing its commitment to boost ties with Morocco. This appeal intensified in October, when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) announced a hostile verdict against the EU-Morocco partnership agreement related to agriculture and fisheries trade agreements.
The court accused the EU Commission of violating the “right to self-determination” for the “population of Western Sahara.”
In response, European bodies backed their partnership with Morocco, stating that it will continue to cooperate with the North African country.
Last month, European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy Oliver Varhelyi expressed the EU’s renewed interest in its relationship with Morocco, commending the North African country on its stability.
“Morocco has been recognized in Europe as a pillar of stability, a pillar of prosperity, and increasingly over these five years, we have seen Morocco also become a reliable, always available, and serious partner in the region’s security,” he said, adding that the partnership is not only positive but also indispensable.
Following the volatile ECJ verdict, Bourita in November called on the EU to take actions and define how it is intending to safeguard the EU -Morocco agreements.
“Morocco is waiting for the European Union to clarify how it intends to address the provocations and legal and economic pressures that Morocco is currently facing.”
The minister further said the North African country is expecting the EU to propose “meaningful suggestions and solutions that reflect its commitment to this partnership.”
EU countries have consistently spoken to the importance of the Morocco-EU cooperation agreements, calling for maintaining strong bilateral relations.
“If anyone believes that a ruling by the Court of Justice is going to call into question the stability of Morocco’s relationship with Spain or with the European Union, they are mistaken,” Spanish Minister of Agriculture Luis Planas told reporters in October.
