The head of the joint parliamentary committee of Morocco and the European Union, Hassan Haddad, accused “part of the French deep state” today, Tuesday, of supporting a recently approved European Parliament recommendation on freedom of the press, which has drawn sharp criticism in the Kingdom. Haddad said at a press conference in Rabat. I think that part of the deep state in France is concerned about Morocco’s security and diplomatic victories, and they took advantage of this crisis to encourage French liberals to make this decision.
He explained that the head of the Refresh (Liberal Center) group in the French European Parliament, Stéphane Sigournet, “close to the French presidency (…), played a very big role and was one of the architects of the decision.”
He added: “We were surprised by this because Renew is for us a moderate party that supports Morocco and the French consider them our partners (…) in accordance with the common interests between Morocco and France”, adding: “I hope that the French state is aware of the seriousness of what has happened.”
Two weeks ago, the European Parliament approved a non-binding recommendation criticizing the deteriorating situation for press freedom in the Kingdom, calling on the authorities to “respect freedom of speech and freedom of the media” and “ensure fair trials of detained journalists.” “
The recommendation was strongly condemned in Rabat, made in particular by the Moroccan parliament, which announced its intention to “redefine” its relationship with its European counterpart, condemning “foreign interference” and “extortion”. On the other hand, human rights activists in Morocco and abroad welcomed her.
Criticism from the political class and local media focused on Paris in the context of the Franco-Algerian rapprochement that angered Rabat, amid major regional tensions between the two Maghreb neighbors over the Western Sahara issue.
On Tuesday, Hassan Haddad considered that the European Parliament’s approval of the controversial recommendation “bypasses all institutional mechanisms for dialogue and coordination”, especially the Joint Parliamentary Committee. But he also stressed that relations between the Kingdom and the European Union “will not be affected.”
