EU and Morocco

Relations with the EU were originally based on the Co-operation Agreement of 1976 which was largely trade related. This was replaced in 1996 with the stronger Association Agreement and ratified on March 1st 2000 by all member states. The Association Agreement is largely political with emphasis on diplomatic contact, regional peace, stability, immigration control and the promotion of prosperity in the Mediterranean area etc.

The Association Agreement also includes provisions on freedom of establishment and the liberalisation of services in Morocco. It also incorporates free movement of capital and competition rules and the strengthening of economic co-operation on the widest possible basis. The Association Agreement confirms the existence of free trade in manufactured goods and it reinforces the arrangements for free trade in industrial products that are already in existence. Arrangements for importing Moroccan products are more flexible in the new agreement than they were under the 1976 Co-operation Agreement. Added to the new agreement has been the emphasis on social improvement, the implementation of social reforms and the recognition of Moroccan cultural identity.