FIRST EU-MOROCCO SUMMIT 7 MARCH 2010

That this House welcomes the holding of the first EU-Morocco Summit on 7 March 2010, in Granada, under the Spanish Presidency as being the first summit of its kind with an Arab country; recognises the degree of maturity and trust attained by the political dialogue between the parties; acknowledges the importance of the strategic partnership between the European Union and Morocco particularly the need for Morocco to achieve optimum proximity to the EU; further welcomes the parties' commitment to begin a thorough process of reflection on the nature and form of a new contractual relationship beyond the Advanced Status granted to Morocco in October 2008; takes note of the need to accelerate integration in the Maghreb region through a responsible and constructive dialogue between members of the Maghreb Arab Union; and further acknowledges that the co-operation between the EU, Morocco and other countries of the Sahel-Saharan region must be further developed in order to efficiently tackle security threats in this region.