Reason, Pragmatism Require Full Recognition by EU of Morocco’s Sovereignty over the Sahara (Italian Expert)

Reason and pragmatism require the full recognition by the EU of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, writes on Monday the Italian expert in international relations, Marco Baratto, who highlights Morocco’s status as “a reliable, stable and value-sharing partner of Europe” in the promotion of human rights, counter-terrorism, sustainable development and mutual respect. “Europe must be pragmatic and open its own representative office in the southern provinces of the Kingdom,” says the Italian expert in an article published by the electronic paper “Mediterranews”, highlighting the assets and the strong momentum of development that the Moroccan Sahara witnesses, as well as its strategic position as a gateway to sub-Saharan Africa. “Europe cannot be a mere spectator of the potential of these regions, their technological development, and their role as a gateway to the continent of the future that is Africa,” he stresses, noting that Morocco is strategic for security in Europe, “as evidenced by the assistance provided to French police forces to identify and dismantle a dangerous terrorist cell that could have committed carnage at Easter.” The ecological transition is also one of the sectors in which Europe and Morocco can work, he notes. “Just think of the solar power plants already active and the many others that could be useful to both Morocco and Europe and that could in the medium and long term free the Old Continent from fossil fuels and lead them to the end of European economic dependence on nations in which human rights are certainly not on the agenda,” he points out. Regarding this matter, it should be noted, he says, that Morocco is a State of law, in the sense accepted by the international community and that this must also be taken into account when it comes to intensifying relations. In fact, more and more often, the economies of States are assessed not only in terms of the resources they have in their subsoil, but also in terms of ethical, moral or economic implications, he underlines. “In other words, social reliability, the guarantee of the protection of human rights and migrants, the absence of massive use of force have more and more weight in the assessments of the economic reliability of nations,” according to this expert in international relations. “The ethical record of a nation is therefore not only a matter of conscience but also of economics. And in this record, Morocco can certainly be considered reliable and secure,” says Baratto. He points in this regard to the violations of human rights in some neighboring countries of the Kingdom “where there are unfortunately still gray areas regarding the repression of dissent and freedom of expression of thought”. “We cannot, as Europeans, continue to accept and be dependent on nations where human rights are violated. As Europeans, we cannot be tied to nations that consider the peoples or certain European nations as traditional and eternal enemies”, he adds. “We need an act of courage and recognize Morocco as a stable ally, faithful and in line with the values that Europe professes. Therefore, Europe needs Morocco, so we must act, follow the pragmatism and courage of the Americans and recognize the full and legitimate sovereignty of Morocco over its southern provinces,” he stresses.