ENP is more than Necessary in the Context of Pandemic Crisis: FM

“The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is more than necessary, given the context of the pandemic crisis we are experiencing,” said Thursday Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita.

In his speech on the occasion of the EU-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting, Bourita said that the Covid-19 has challenged the concept of neighbourhood, gave another meaning to the concept of security and demonstrated weaknesses, but also revealed opportunities to be exploited together.

After 17 years of implementation, the ENP retains all its strategic relevance, he noted, stressing that it is relevant in its spirit, that of offering differentiated partnership paths, relevant in its method, since it mobilizes a range of instruments and programs according to new methods, and relevant in its experience, that of bringing together different countries.

Thus, the ENP is materialized by an institutionalized political dialogue, with more than € 30 billion invested between 2003 and 2020, through diversified, sometimes complex but always adapted support methods, structured sectoral cooperation and open access to agencies and programs, the minister pointed out.

However, the 17 years of the ENP have shown some limits to be overcome, he said, noting that in the end, it has not deployed a sufficiently fruitful offer to reduce the development gap between the two shores.

“The wealth produced in the South is 13 times less than in the North, and the standard of living gap is almost 1 to 5,” Bourita observed.

The ENP must transcend pure financial logic, Bourita underlined, adding that a renewed ENP would benefit from having flexible instruments, tailored to each partner’s commitment and priorities.

He also pleaded for greater involvement of the South in + decision shaping + concerning it, like the members of the European Economic Area.

Regarding Morocco, Bourita said that the European Union is a geostrategic evidence. “His Majesty King Mohammed VI is a keen expert on the EU, its mechanisms and its Partnership with Morocco. The Sovereign has set a course for us, which is our doctrine”, he stressed.

With its advanced Status, Morocco has made, with the EU, the choice to recapitalize relations around a global partnership, assured Mr. Bourita, affirming that “we are determined to optimize the opportunity represented by the revision of the ENP, to go together on future-oriented areas, such as the twin transitions – digital and green – through the conclusion of Green and Digital Pacts”.

The minister also mentioned “research and innovation in the field of health, in order to constitute a bulwark against future crises”.

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was developed to promote prosperity, stability and security within the EU’s neighbours and to avoid new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbours.