Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Commission in Brussels said that Vice-President Frans Timmermans in charge of the Green Deal file, accompanied by Commissioner for Energy Affairs Kadri Simpson, will receive today Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development in Morocco.
The Moroccan minister will hold talks related to developing cooperation and joint action between the two sides in the field of energy and sustainable development. The talks between the two sides come after Morocco and the European Union signed last Thursday an agreement related to five projects that the Kingdom is carrying out in the social, economic, agricultural and energy fields, with a total value of 5.5 billion dirhams ( about 500 million euros).
The agreement was signed during a visit by the European Commissioner in charge of Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy, Oliver Farrelly, to Morocco, which began on Wednesday evening and ended on Thursday, when the European Commissioner signed five cooperation programs worth about 500 million euros related to reforms in areas including health care and social security, agriculture and forestry, financial and administrative reform, and immigration. .
In a joint press conference with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, Farrelly stressed "the utmost importance of the European Union's partnership with Morocco," saying, "Morocco is a strategic and strong partner of the European Union."
He also praised the reforms undertaken by Morocco in the social and economic fields, describing them as "ambitions approaching European standards."
"We support the government's policy of providing jobs and economic opportunities for small and medium-sized companies, and we also support the Mohammed VI Investment Fund," a fund to finance investments and major projects, he added.
In the field of energy, he said, "The energy market in Morocco is ready to produce more green energy, such as electricity."
He revealed that Morocco will receive more than two billion euros in grants until 2027.
And last January, according to Moroccan media, in a recent report, the European Council on Foreign Relations recommended that European countries aspiring to decarbonize and achieve climate neutrality support the efforts of Morocco and North African countries financially and technically in the production of clean and renewable energies, in view of relying on them as important partners in the field. Energy Transition in Europe in the Medium and Long Term.

The Council considered that the ability of European countries to support the efforts of their neighbors to remove carbon and energy transition through partnerships in the areas of research cooperation, could help motivate North African leaders to transform their homes into clean energy-producing sectors, indicating that this is more suitable for North African countries. With limited fossil fuel resources, such as Morocco and Tunisia.