EU committee approves 111 million-euros worth projects for Morocco

The MEDA committee of the European Commission approved 111 million euros in financial contributions to four projects in Morocco, the European Union delegation in Rabat announced.

The European Union will extend 80 million euros to a Mediterranean bypass road, 21 million Euros to support traditional fisheries, 5 million to the national geological cartography plan and 5 million to culture centers.

With this new package, the EU statement said, almost all the MEDA program funds have been used, with the exception of 7 million euros to go to a project to reduce unhealthy housing in the northern Moroccan city of Tangiers.

Other projects will need only an accelerated procedure since the required amount does not exceed 2 million euros.

By end of this year, Morocco will have received a total of 630 million Euro as a donation and all the Morocco-EU financial commitments are honored and even exceeded since they had initially planned an amount of 580 million Euro. A percentage of 40% of the EU funds went to supporting Morocco's economic transition and 58% to consolidating socioeconomic balance.

The statement concludes that these results show that the first hardships in starting the MEDA program were overcome and that relations will be deepened by the new program to be launched in 2000.