France said it supports the appeal lodged by the European Council against the ruling of the European Union court on the Morocco-EU farm and fisheries agreements.
The support was expressed in Paris by the French Minister for Foreign Trade and Attractiveness, Franck Riester.
The EU court issued on Sep.29 a ruling for the annulment of the agricultural and the fisheries agreements between Morocco and the European Union that had come into force two years earlier. The first agreement concerns the application of preferential tariffs to agricultural products from Morocco. The second, on fisheries, gives European vessels access to Atlantic waters as far as the Moroccan Sahara.
“France is a privileged partner of Morocco and we absolutely want to support all the steps which ensure the stability of relations between the European Union and Morocco. We support an appeal by the European Council against the judgment of the European Union court,” underlined the French minister.
The EU Court’s decision came in response to an annulment appeal brought by the Algeria-backed Polisario, against the Morocco-EU farm and fisheries agreements.
The EU court had however accompanied its decision to annul these agreements by “maintaining their effects for a certain period in order to preserve the external action of the European Union and the legal certainty of its international commitments.”
The court had justified maintaining the effects of the two agreements by the fact that “their cancellation with immediate effect is likely to have serious consequences on the external action of the European Union”.
Immediately after the European court of Justice issued its ruling challenging the Morocco-EU deals, Rabat and the European bloc issued a joint statement, affirming that they will continue their bilateral cooperation and will stand united in defending the legality of their partnership agreements.
“We remain fully mobilized to continue cooperation between the EU and Morocco, in a climate of serenity and commitment, in order to consolidate the Euro-Moroccan Shared Prosperity Partnership, launched in June 2019”, says the joint statement released by EU foreign Chief Josep Borrell and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
“We will continue to work to develop this multidimensional strategic partnership, in the same spirit of mobilization, coherence and solidarity”, adds the statement.
“This equal partnership is based on a solid bilateral relationship, trust and mutual respect between Morocco and the EU”, underlines the joint statement.
The two partners take note of the European court’s ruling and pledge to take “the necessary measures to ensure (…) the continuation and stability of their trade relations”, said the statement.