France-Morocco Friendship Group in Senate Denounces Alignment of Some French MEPs Close to Presidential Majority with Voices Hostile to Morocco

The France-Morocco interparliamentary group of friendship in the French Senate denounced, Monday, the alignment of some French MEPs close to the presidential majority with the voices hostile to Morocco. “Some French MEPs, although close to the presidential majority, prefer to join their voices to the usual opponents of Morocco,” said the group in a statement, in reaction to the recent European Parliament resolution on the Kingdom. “Ready to give lessons, they seem to appreciate the situation of human rights and the press (…) with a lot of bias, far from the realities,” it denounced. Chaired by Senator Christian Cambon, also chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces, the group said it was “concerned” about the impact of this resolution on French-Moroccan relations, expressing its “astonishment” at the European Parliament’s vote. The France-Morocco interparliamentary group of friendship in the French Senate affirmed, moreover, that it “will continue to work for the strengthening of relations with Morocco which, in all fields, remains our most faithful partner and ally in the service of peace in this region of the world”. The parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco had announced, in a joint statement of the two Houses on January 23, its decision to reconsider its relations with the European Parliament by subjecting them to a comprehensive reassessment, aiming to take firm and appropriate decisions, following the latest positions of the European Parliament towards Morocco. The Parliament decided to create an ad-hoc thematic committee dedicated to the re-evaluation of relations with the EP and composed of representatives of both Houses of the Parliament.