Explanatory Memorandum to JOIN(2013)6 - EU position on the recommendation on the implementation of the EU-Morocco Action Plan implementing the advanced status (2013-2017)

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dossier JOIN(2013)6 - EU position on the recommendation on the implementation of the EU-Morocco Action Plan implementing the advanced status ...
source JOIN(2013)6 EN
date 17-04-2013
Morocco and the European Union are bound by a Euro‑Mediterranean Association Agreement that came into force in March 2000. On the basis of that agreement, the EU-Morocco European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan was approved by both sides in July 2005 for a period of five years.

Within this framework, EU-Morocco relations have developed and matured substantially. The adoption of the joint document on advanced status in October 2008 i gave a further impetus to these relations and marked a significant deepening in the areas of political relations, security, economics, trade and various sectors, and in people-to-people contacts.

When the current ENP Action Plan expired in July 2010, it was deemed appropriate to negotiate and conclude a new Action Plan, based on the objectives and ambitions of the joint document on advanced status. However, pending the conclusion of the new Action Plan, both sides agreed to continue to apply the 2005 Action Plan.

EU-Morocco relations are set against the background of a region where the overall political situation has been in a state of flux since early 2011.

The Joint Communication to the Parliament and the Council entitled ‘A new response to a changing neighbourhood’ outlined a new approach which aims at a higher level of differentiation, allowing each partner to develop its links with the EU based on its own aspirations, needs and capacities, but also on mutual accountability and the degree of commitment to the universal values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and the capacity to implement jointly agreed priorities. This new Action Plan clearly outlines the priority objectives of the EU-Morocco special partnership while taking full account of the advanced status and of the comprehensiveness of EU-Morocco relations.

The European External Action Service (EEAS), in close cooperation with the European Commission and EU Member States, has held exploratory talks with Morocco which have resulted in an agreement on the draft Action Plan, including the list of priority measures to be carried out under the Plan. At the last EU-Morocco Association Council on 23 April 2012 both sides noted that they were close to an agreement, which was then reached in November 2012. The finalisation of technical consultations on each side was notified through an exchange of letters on 28 November 2012 (EEAS) and 10 January 2013 (Morocco).

The new EU-Morocco Action Plan implementing the advanced status (2013-2017) will be an essential point of reference that will guide our bilateral relations with Morocco in the coming years and thus provide a road map for a deeper association between Morocco and the EU. The ENP will continue to act as a catalyst by providing a single policy framework, based inter alia on partnership, joint ownership, performance-driven differentiation and tailor-made assistance.

The European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy ('High Representative') attach hereto the text of a joint proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken by the European Union within the EU-Morocco Association Council on the adoption of a recommendation on the implementation of the Action Plan.

The European Commission and the High Representative therefore request the Council to adopt the attached joint proposal for a Council Decision.