Rabat: The European Parliament approved a recommendation to prevent Moroccan parliamentarians from entering its headquarters in Brussels until the completion of the investigation into an alleged “corruption” case in which Morocco is accused .
And Anatolia correspondent stated that the European Parliament approved the new procedure in Thursday's vote by 401 votes against, 3 deputies rejected, and 133 abstained from voting.
According to the text of the decision published on the European Parliament’s website, the latter approved “expanding the scope of measures taken to include representatives of Morocco.”
And the European decision stated: “We insist on a full investigation of corruption cases involving countries that seek to influence parliament, and we will take the necessary measures.”
On February 2, the European Parliament stripped two deputies of parliamentary immunity on the basis of accusations that they had received bribes from Qatar and Morocco, which were rejected by Doha and Rabat.
In December 2022, the Belgian authorities charged four deputies in the European Parliament with receiving gifts and money to influence decision-making in Parliament.
Commenting on the new decision, Moroccan parliamentarian Hassan Haddad, head of the joint parliamentary committee between Morocco and the European Union, said, "The European Parliament adopts a hostile stance towards Morocco."
Haddad added, in a tweet on Twitter, Thursday evening: “The European Parliament rejected an amendment submitted by conservative deputies in Parliament, which requires confirming allegations against Morocco before applying these measures.”
And he continued, “He issues judgments without evidence. Where is the state of law that they have been bragging about?”
On January 23, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing the conditions of freedom of the press and expression in Morocco, calling on the kingdom's authorities to "end the judicial prosecution of a number of journalists."
In response, the Moroccan parliament said that the European decision "undermined the foundations of trust and cooperation" between the two sides.
In its decision, the European Parliament called for the release of Moroccan journalists Omar Radi, Suleiman Raissouni and Taoufik Bouachrine, and for the cessation of judicial proceedings against them on "sexual" charges.
Al-Radi is serving 6 years in prison on charges of “rape” and “communicating,” Raissouni is serving 5 years, and Bouachrine is 15 years on charges of “sexual offences,” while human rights activists and media professionals believe that they were prosecuted for their opinions and journalistic work.(Anatolia)
The Supreme Commander of the Moroccan Artillery Corps visits Israel for the first time - (photos)
Rabat
The supreme commander of the Moroccan artillery, Mohamed Benawali, visited Israel for the first time, according to Avichai Adraei, the Israeli occupation army's spokesperson for Arab media.
Adraei stated on his Twitter account that the visit falls within the framework of strengthening cooperation and the relationship between the Israeli and Moroccan artillery weapons.
He added that the Moroccan mission was briefed on the latest strategic and professional updates, and toured several military sites, especially in the north, in order to closely identify the military field challenges of the Israeli artillery force.
In the same context, it was stated in a tweet by an account bearing the name of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, that General Mohamed Benawali, the inspector of the Royal Artillery, paid a working visit to Israel, the first of its kind, during which the capabilities of the IDF artillery were identified, and the field challenges it faces through visits to several sites. military.
These visits come within the framework of activating the military cooperation agreement concluded between Rabat and Tel Aviv on October 25, 2021.
Morocco had normalized its relations with Israel on December 10, 2020, with American mediation.
Tags:
EUROPE UPDATE