13 European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)
and Morocco
| (34882)
8838/13
JOIN(13) 6
| Council Decision on the Union position within the Association Council set up by the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States and the Kingdom of Morocco with regard to the adoption of a recommendation on the implementation of the EU-Morocco Action Plan implementing the advanced status (2013-2017)
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| Legal base | Article 29 TEU; unanimity
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| Document originated | 17 April 2013
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| Deposited in Parliament | 1 May 2013
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 16 May 2013
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| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (34824) 8044/13: HC 86-iii (2013-14), chapter 22 (21 May 2013) and (34640) 17814/13: HC 86-vi (2013-14), chapter 12 (19 June 2013)
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| Discussion in Council | To be determined
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| Committee's assessment | Legally and politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
13.1 The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) aims to promote security,
stability and prosperity among the EU's neighbours through implementation
of political and economic reforms. It applies, in the East, to
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and,
in the South, to Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya,
Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria and Tunisia.
Bilateral Action Plans detail the planned reforms agreed between
the EU and partner countries (Algeria, Belarus, Libya and Syria,
while covered by ENP, do not participate fully in it and do not
have agreed Action Plans). In addition to these bilateral components,
the ENP comprises a number of regional and multilateral initiatives.
13.2 Implementation of the ENP is supported by the European
Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) with a budget
in 2007-13 of some €11.5 billion.[36]
13.3 Our first Report under reference deals with
the Joint Communication on the European Neighbourhood Policy,
"European Neighbourhood Policy: Working towards a Stronger
Partnership", which is the second report since the major
overhaul of the ENP in summer 2011. The new ENP's main features
are political association and economic integration, the mobility
of people, more EU financial assistance, a stronger partnership
with civil society and better cooperation on specific sector policies.
The Joint Communication reviews progress made by ENP partners
against the jointly agreed reform objectives.
13.4 As is customary, individual progress reports
(covering Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Tunisia
and Ukraine) assess progress made by these ENP partner countries
in implementing reforms agreed with the EU and where further action
is required. There are also two regional reviews covering the
Southern Neighbourhood and the Eastern Partnership (and a Statistical
Annex, which provides selected political, economic, mobility and
assistance related indicators, statistics and graphs). The key
points of this mass of documentation is summarised in, and commented
upon by the Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington), in our first
Report under reference.[37]
The new EU-Morocco Action Plan
13.5 The new EU-Morocco Action Plan implementing
the advanced status (2013-2017)[38]
provides for a political roadmap for cooperation across all sectors
of the EU-third country relationship. Priorities include:
- implementing the new Constitution;
- continuing justice and human rights reform;
- strengthening good governance;
- promoting greater freedom of association of the
press and the adoption of a press code;
- structural reform of the economy; and
- fighting unemployment.
The Government's view
13.6 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 16 May 2013,
the Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington) says that the Action
Plan:
"signals EU political support for Morocco,
particularly through its branding as an Action Plan on an advanced
status. Morocco would be the first country in the EU's Neighbourhood
to attain this status — at present; Tunisia is currently
negotiating an Action Plan on a Privileged Partnership, while
all other partners in the Neighbourhood have no such special status.
It also provides a means of leveraging the EU and Moroccan bureaucracies
to engage in particular areas, by denoting cooperation in that
sector a political priority."
13.7 The Minister continues his comments as follows:
"UK Ministers are strongly committed to working
in support of the EU and its Neighbourhood Policy post-Arab Spring.
The UK is supportive of Morocco's reform process, and keen to
see the EU use its incentives to encourage further reform.
"This Action Plan will inform our bilateral
relations with Morocco in the coming years offering a methodology
for a cooperation across all sectors of the EU-third country relationship.
The current European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) EU-Morocco Action
Plan expired in July 2010. Pending the conclusion of the new
Action Plan, both sides have agreed to continue to apply the 2005
Action Plan.
"The EU-Morocco partnership, which started with
a Trade Agreement in 1969, reached a turning-point with the Association
Agreement signed in 1996, under the European Neighbourhood Policy.
These have helped to strengthen political, economic and trade
ties and resulted in the sustained development of human and cultural
exchanges. On the basis of the Association Agreement, relations
between Morocco and the EU have gradually and steadily grown into
a genuine EU-Morocco partnership.
"The adoption in October 2008 of the joint document
on reinforcing bilateral relations marked the start of a new phase
in bilateral relations. This document strengthens the partnership
between the EU and Morocco by setting ambitious new goals for
deeper political, economic and human relations. The two sides
are seeking to further strengthen this partnership in order to
address shared political, economic and social challenges.
"The Action Plan concerns the relationship between
Morocco and the European Union, rather than EU Member States.
However, the UK supports the aims and objectives stated in the
Action Plan, which requires a stronger commitment to the introduction
of the major reforms instigated by Morocco and to their extension
both in the political sphere, principally in the areas of democracy,
human rights and the rule of law, and in the economic and social
spheres, in particular with a view to tangible progress on human
development."
13.8 The Minister also comments on the use of a Council
Decision as follows:
"The United Kingdom does not agree that a Council
Decision citing a substantive Common Foreign and Security Policy
(CFSP) legal base is the appropriate mechanism for adopting the
EU's position within the Association Council with regard to the
adoption of a recommendation to adopt the Action Plan. The Action
Plan itself does not contain any legally binding obligations and
moreover the Association Council will simply 'recommend' its adoption
to the Parties to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement. The United
Kingdom considers that the Council is being asked to adopt an
EU position that is essentially political and therefore should
properly be adopted by way of Council Conclusions adopted by consensus.
Furthermore the Action Plan covers a broad range of subject areas
and it is unlikely that they would all fall within the Union's
CFSP."
Conclusion
13.9 This latter is an issue that we have explored
at length with the Minister, both in relation to the earlier EU-Palestine
Action Plan[39]
and, more generally, in the evidence that he has given to the
Committee during the course of its inquiry into the scrutiny process
in the House.
13.10 The Minister contended that the Council
Decision by which that earlier Action Plan was adopted was not
legally binding. At issue for the Government then was a desire
for a policy document such as an ENP Action Plan not to be legally
binding: for the Committee, to ensure that all ENP Action Plans
are depositable documents.
13.11 The Minister said (in a letter to the Committee
of 22 March 2013) that the Government had argued consistently
that a Council Decision was not the right means to adopt a text
of a political nature; and that the Council Decision for the EU-Palestine
Action Plan was not a legally binding decision pursuant to Article
288 TFEU. He went on to say:
"There is no substantive legal base cited
on the face of the Council decision. As the I/A cover note for
the decision acknowledges, the text of the Action Plan is of a
political nature having no legally binding effects for the Parties;
and the position to be approved by the Council is not based on
Article 218(9) TFEU. On the basis of the I/A cover note, it is
clear that this act of the Council is not a decision as provided
for in Article 288 TFEU but rather a sui generis Council
decision that creates political rather than legal commitments.
The Council decision and the cover note were agreed by consensus
on 18 March."
13.12 We deemed this a novel argument, because
the Treaties do not provide for non-legally binding Council Decisions
such as this.
13.13 Most recently, when giving evidence to the
Committee's inquiry on 3 July, the Minister was asked if he would
agree to our revised Standing Order referring to action plans
by name as depositable documents; and responded thus:
"No. The problem with action plans is that
they cover such a wide range of documents. They are not defined
in the treaties in any way. Sometimes action plans can be documents
that are politically important; they will define the EU strategy
towards a particular country or region of the world. We do try
in Government, where that is the case, to submit them for scrutiny.
If they are issued as Council decisions or Commission communications,
first of all, they are depositable under the scrutiny process
anyway. The enlargement strategy, which was a communication, and
the joint communications of the EAS and the Commission on the
counterterrorism action plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen
were caught by scrutiny."[40]
13.14 Our view continues to be that ENP Action
Plans, in whatever form they are to be adopted, should be depositable
documents precisely because they are political commitments, and
ones that do indeed define EU strategy and policy towards a country
or region. If they do not, then they are mis-named: and if they
are thus named, they should be subject to the normal scrutiny
process.
13.15 As we have indicated, it may be that our
Standing Orders will have to be amended to include strategies
and action plans specifically if they are not to be adopted by
Council Decisions in the future. But that is for another time.
13.16 For now, we would be grateful to be kept
informed of developments in agreeing the procedure to be adopted
for this and other Action Plans,[41]
not least because of its consequences for Parliamentary scrutiny.
13.17 In the meantime, we shall continue to retain
this Council Decision under scrutiny.
36 See http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/index_en.htm for
full information about the European Neighbourhood Policy. Back
37
See headnote. Back
38
"Advanced status" partnership means closer cooperation
in a large number of areas, and specific commitments on both sides.
It has also been described as "more than association, less
than accession". Back
39
See headnote: (34640) 17814/13: HC 86-vi (2013-14), chapter 12
(19 June 2013). Back
40
See http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmeuleg/uc109-iii/uc10901.htm,
Q562. Back
41
See our consideration of the proposed EU-Lebanon Action Plan at
chapter 15 of this Report. Back
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