“These attacks amount to direct interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states,” Flanagan points out, noting that “there is a hidden agenda” behind these attacks.
“There is no doubt that the economic development plans as well as human rights development programs which King Mohammed VI has sponsored since his accession have caused concern to some European countries and their petty ambitions”, he says, adding that “Morocco’s exit from the position of dependence on EU states is not firmly in the interest of Europe generally and France in particular”.
“Thanks to its economic policies, social and political stability and unique religious coexistence, Morocco has become very attractive to world markets”, the expert in international relations stresses, adding that “the European dominance in Morocco’s markets has ended and the EU (with France in particular) is fighting back with spurious claims in the European Parliament”.
Flanagan recalls that during a session dedicated to discussing “the scandalous and repeated attacks” of the European Parliament on Morocco, the Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives charged that the actions against Morocco of some parties in the European Parliament constitute interference in the internal affairs of Morocco.
“Algerian gas is on the minds of EU Member states now”, the former congressman says, adding that “the high price of energy and the rush of European markets to Algeria as a replacement for lost contracts in the Ukrainian war makes clear the current posture of the EU to not offend Algeria in any way.”
“Morocco has to be maligned in order to satisfy their Algerian gas suppliers,” he explains.
“Also, Europe has a long-standing interest in obstructing Moroccan growth into world markets beyond regional (that is, European captured) markets”, Flanagan underlines.
“To these ends, the EU negatively distorts the country’s image in order to keep it under the European umbrella as a consumer market.”
“Now aligned with the EU interests, Algeria’s hand in this matter is obvious”, the former congressman stresses.
“To push its agenda concerning the Polisario and feeding their long-standing expansionist ambitions in Africa, Algeria enlists the EU to make baseless charges against Morocco,” he points out.
“Simply put, it is Algerian gas in exchange for hostility to Morocco. Further, the French who resent Morocco’s lean away from France and towards the United States is no reluctant partner in this endeavor,” he adds.
“The Kingdom of Morocco is paying the price today for its strategic choices and a decades-long balanced set of relations with Israel and the Palestinian Authority”, the expert in international relations says, noting that the Kingdom “is paying a heavy price in the EU circles chiefly because it supports the United States over its former colonizer”.
“It is better for us today to take the responsibility in proving to our friends in Morocco that we value their choices and appreciate their sacrifices. We must view a diplomatic attack on Morocco is an attack on the United States’/Moroccan relationship and our common strategic interest in North Africa and the Middle East,” Flanagan underlines.
