Meeting in Strasbourg, France, the Bureau of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities approved, on 18 June 2018, the request for granting of Partner for local democracy status to the Kingdom of Morocco. Established by the Congress in 2014, this status is part of the Council of Europe’s neighbourhood policy and offers the countries concerned a special framework for institutional dialogue with their European counterparts.
‟The Kingdom of Morocco is a long-standing partner of the Council of Europe and participates in the work of several of its bodies such as the Venice Commission, the North-South Centre, the Pompidou Group and the Parliamentary Assembly” said Gudrun MOSLER-TÖRNSTRÖM, President of the Congress. ‟By joining our Assembly of elected local and regional representatives, the Moroccan authorities have confirmed their desire to anchor Moroccan local democracy in the values of the Council of Europe and the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government”, she added.
Through this status, the Moroccan authorities undertake to develop a process of decentralisation and regionalisation, based on the principles of the Charter, and to hold free and fair elections at local and regional level, which will be in conformity with international standards.
The official application to be granted this status was submitted to the President of the Congress on 30 May 2018 by the Moroccan Minister of the Interior, the Chair of the AMPCC (Moroccan Association of Chairs of Municipal Councils) and the Chair of the ARM (Association of Regions of Morocco).
The draft resolution proposes granting the status to the Kingdom of Morocco with the attribution to the Moroccan delegation of six seats for its representatives and six seats for their substitutes. The text will be submitted for adoption at the 35th session of the Congress to be held in Strasbourg from 6 to 8 November 2018.
‟We welcome the strengthening of our co-operation and are delighted to receive, in Strasbourg, a delegation of Moroccan local and regional elected representatives, which will be the first to benefit from this special status”, said Piero Fassino, thematic spokesperson on the South-Mediterranean Partnership.
