Morocco's representatives lash out at story challenging approval procedure of Morocco-US FTA

The bureau of the Moroccan house of representatives and all parliamentary groups strongly rejected allegations mentioned in a story published by French "Le Monde" daily questioning the Morocco-US FTA approval procedures.

In a statement released this Thursday, the House "strongly rejects erroneous remarks, misplaced allusions and non-professional comments" of "Le Monde" article, of January 8, on the approval procedure of the Free Trade Agreement signed last June between Morocco and the USA.

The story was titled "Moroccan parliament ratifies without reading key agreement."

The statement notes the "malevolent title" at a time the Moroccan parliament was starting to look into the agreement, insisting that the procedure was taking place in the strict observance of the institutional procedures in force. The Parliament, adds the statement, has been following very closely all the negotiation process and has often tabled questions on the matter to government members.

In addition to the multiple oral and written questions to which the government answered in plenary session, the foreign affairs committees of the two Houses held with the competent ministers several meetings on the subject, both during negotiations and after the end of talks in March 2004.

Several parliamentary groups have held information days on the Morocco-USA FTA in the presence of negotiators and the agreement was entirely published on various web-sites once it was signed last June and even before it was officially discussed in the parliament.

Therefore, the agreement was definitely not "mysterious," says the statement recalling how the various parliamentary groups are practicing, in a full and responsible manner, their constitutional prerogatives in controlling the government action.

It also notes that the French publication has "invited the French public opinion to a Moroccan-Moroccan debate over an agreement concluded with a third country."

Beyond their political divergences, goes on the House, these groups are proud of the democratic gains reached by the Kingdom, and particularly power-separation.