Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission, will travel to Morocco within the next hours for a two-day visit to Rabat, Monday and Tuesday. Last Friday, 23 September, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and the Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, welcomed "the forthcoming signing of the Green Partnership between the European Union and Morocco", said a press release from the European External Action Service. This partnership is the first of its kind. concluded by the European Union with a country in its southern neighbourhood

In the middle of last year, the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco announced their intention to establish a green partnership. The partners aim to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against climate change, working together to advance their energy transition, protect the environment and promote a green economy. Morocco has submitted a substantial and ambitious revision of its Nationally Determined Contributions to reach a 45.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Once completed, this partnership will contribute to Morocco achieving its goals, both in decarbonizing the economy and in enhancing the resilience of the most sectors vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The Green Partnership with Morocco will be one of the EU's first initiatives with a partner country aimed at strengthening the external dimension of the European Green Deal through action on the ground. About this major achievement, then Executive Vice President of the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said: “The European Union has set high climate ambitions through the Green Deal and we will soon introduce legislative proposals to accelerate our emissions reductions. But the climate and biodiversity crises are global crises, and we can only succeed If we work closely with our partners, we aim to get all countries on board in a global race to zero. With its new, more ambitious 2030 climate target, Morocco is already showing a strong commitment to climate action. We will now work together towards a green partnership, to share best practices and develop joint projects in Circular economy, green finance, and clean energy.” In the context of strengthening cooperation, the European Union and Morocco have also announced the payment of 12 million euros under the Competitiveness and Green Growth Programme, which supports reforms of green transformation of industries and regulatory convergence. They also announced that EU Services had recently signed a financing agreement for a €20 million programme, co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), to support rural development. For the next programming cycle (2021-2027), about 30% of the EU budget will be allocated to external cooperation once established,

This green partnership should allow the EU and Morocco to: progress towards their shared goals of becoming low-carbon, climate-resilient economies and the transition to a green economy; Promote early policy dialogue and coordination on energy, climate change, environmental protection and green economy at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels; Encouraging innovative, sustainable, job-creating and environmentally friendly projects; Develop triangular cooperation with other international actors to encourage a stronger commitment to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and collectively advancing the global climate agenda.