Morocco recieves aid as part of EU ties

Morocco is to receive Euro 580 million (roughly MAD 6 billion) from the European Union over the next four years, according to a joint agreement that was signed between Morocco and the EU recently, which it is hoped will provide the country with the means to further integrate itself with the European economy.

The deal was signed between the Finance Minister of Morocco, Salaheddine Mezouar, and the EU Ambassador to Morocco, Eneko Landaburu, in Rabat and laid the groundwork for a series of donations from the EU that will inject funds into a number of development projects and social change initiatives in the country.

The first donation will amount to around 1 billion Moroccan dirhams and is earmarked for use in developing the country’s slums and rural areas, as well as expanding medical coverage for underprivileged Moroccans.

Morocco is fighting a number of socio-economic issues, which the government hopes will be partly resolved through greater integration with Europe. Although the country’s economy is fairly advanced, it relies far too heavily on the agricultural sector, which accounts for 40% of employment while contributing just 15% to GDP.

Around 15% of the population are estimated by the UN to live below the poverty line and because of the reliance on agriculture, the working population is extremely vulnerable to environmental shocks, such as droughts, flooding and crop failures, all of which can result in decreased earnings for the year and a subsequent increase in unemployment and poverty.

Part of this first donation will therefore be aimed at developing rural areas where up to 80% of the population relies on agriculture for their income. The funds will also be used to reduce the number of slums in the country by providing public housing.

The second donation of 500 million Moroccan dirhams will be primarily invested in the Green Morocco Plan, which is intended to modernize the country’s economy by reforming the agricultural sector, which employs the vast majority of workers.

There are six primary areas of agriculture, or problems with the industry, that the Green Morocco Plan intends to redress: insufficient investment in modernizing the industry, insufficient organization leaving much of the employment informal and therefore more exploitable, insufficient management and supervision, limited water resources making the country vulnerable to drought, parceling of property that makes farms smaller and therefore less efficient, and lastly the dominance of cereal crops, which occupy 75% of arable land but account for only 10% of revenues.

A further 2.3 billion Moroccan dirhams will be allocated for institutional support, which is likely to contribute to the ongoing reforms being made to the country’s courts, which have been criticized in recent weeks by the EU.

Just a few months ago the EU Ambassador to Morocco, Eneko Landaburu, told Morocco news media that he’d stressed to government that not enough progress was being made.

“Reform is not going at the pace desired,” he told reporters at a news conference in the capital. He also highlighted freedom of the press and better access to education as areas that needed to be improved under the auspices of the European Neighborhood Policy, the program through which Morocco is receiving the current investment by the EU.

The government has made clear its desire to pursue closer economic and social integration with the EU and this policy has become one of the most significant aspects of the country’s foreign policy and has made extensive progress in developing ties.

Upon the signing of the financial aid package, the EU Ambassador to Morocco, despite earlier criticisms, told Morocco news media that Morocco’s ties with the EU were underlined by historical, cultural, economic and political ties that were very deep and this was reflected in the fact that Morocco is the first country to receive investment from the EU through the European Neighborhood Policy.