El acuerdo de libre comercio entre Marruecos y Estados Unidos y los actores internos no gubernamentales de la política exterior marroquí: El caso de la CGEM

Desde el punto de vista marroquí, la negociación del acuerdo de libre comercio con Estados Unidos (2003-2004) puede analizarse como un juego de dos niveles en cuya dimensión interna tuvieron cierta influencia algunos actores internos no gubernamentales. Entre ellos destaca la Confederación General de Empresarios de Marruecos (CGEM), que en los años anteriores había logrado ser reconocida como principal organización representativa de la patronal del país y asociada formalmente a la elaboración de la política económica exterior. Gracias a los mecanismos de concertación con el sector privado dispuestos por el equipo negociador marroquí, la CGEM pudo participar, con resultados desiguales, en las consultas previas destinadas a definir las propuestas marroquíes, las distintas rondas de negociación y el establecimiento de medidas de acompañamientoFrom the Moroccan point of view, the negotiation of the free trade agreement with the United States (2003-2004) can be analysed as a two-level game, for some nongovernmental domestic actors had a certain influence in its domestic dimension. The Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM), which had recently managed to be recognized as the main representative organization of Moroccan employers and to be formally associated to the policymaking process of foreign economic policy, stands out among them. Thanks to the mechanisms established by the Moroccan negotiating team in order to facilitate coordination with the private sector, the CGEM could take part, with uneven results, in previous consultations aiming to define the Moroccan proposals, in the different rounds of negotiations and in the implementation of accompanying measure

Juegos de espejos y espejismos en las relaciones de Marruecos con la Unión Europea: De la gestación del Estatuto Avanzado a la validación de las reformas de 2011

Este artículo presenta un análisis que disecciona el trato bilateral ventajoso que otorga la UE a Marruecos. El rol nacional de este país como alumno modelo y la dinámica intergubernamental que impulsó decisivamente el proyecto Estatuto Avanzado son los principales argumentos complementarios que se reflexionan en este artículoThis paper presents an analysis of the advantageous bilateral treatment granted by the EU to Morocco. The country's national role as a advanced student and the intergovernmental dynamics that drove decisively the project of advanced statute are the two main and complementary arguments shown in this articl

Morocco and the Middle East under Mohammed VI

This paper examines the broader picture of the Moroccan foreign policy towards the Middle East since the accession of King Mohammed VI to the throne in 1999. It empirically documents and analyses the overall continuity in the basic orientations of this policy, showing how stability and firmness at the level of agency have prevailed over the significant structural disruptions at the regional and global levels that occurred at the turn of the century, which also generated greater domestic tensions. Starting from the widespread perception of a certain Moroccan ‘withdrawal’ from the Arab scene and the mediation in the Middle East conflict, in comparison with the Hassan II era, the different sections address Rabat’s practices and priorities in bilateral relations with the countries of this region, including diplomatic tensions or crises with Saudi Arabia and Iran; its multilateral performance and approach to the reform of the Arab League; its stances on the Israel-Palestine conflict and ambiguous relations with Israel; the impact of the Iraq war (2003) and the increasing relevance of economic exchanges with this part of the world

“S’opposer au Maghreb” [dossier de recherche], L’Année du Maghreb 2009

Thierry Desrues y Miguel Hernando de Larramendi (dirs.). París: CNRS, 2010,215 pp

Nuevas herramientas para el análisis de la política exterior española: La Base de Datos sobre Política Exterior (BDPEX)

La Base de Datos sobre Política Exterior (BDPEX) es una base de datos online integrada sobre la política exterior española. BDPEX ha sido concebida como una herramienta innovadora que palie el déficit de sistematización de los estudios en este ámbito y centrada, por el momento, en las relaciones con la región del Mediterráneo y el mundo árabe. BDPEX es una herramienta de consulta y procesamiento de datos que integra información procedente de diferentes fuentes documentales. Su explotación proporciona una visión sintética, multifacética y poliédrica de las relaciones de España con uno o varios Estados durante un periodo de tiempo determinado, con información tanto cuantitativa como cualitativaThe BDPEX is an online integrated database on Spanish foreign policy. Conceived as an innovative tool aimed at mitigating the relative lack of systematization of research in this field, it is focused so far on Spain's relations with the Mediterranean region and the Arab world. As a data search and processing tool, BDPEX integrates information from different documentary sources. Its exploitation allows for a synthetic and multifaceted view of Spain's relations with one or several countries during a certain period of time, providing both quantitative and qualitative informationEste artículo forma parte de los resultados del proyecto de investigación “Nuevos espacios, actores e instrumentos en las relaciones exteriores de España con el Mundo Árabe y Musulmán” (CSO2011-29438-C05-02), financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Las autoras agradecen a Aurèlia Mañé y Miguel Hernando de Larramendi sus sustanciales aportaciones y comentario

The ‘Moroccogate’ scandal and European parliament decision-making on Western Sahara

This profile examines the institutional significance of ‘Moroccogate’, i.e., the suspected Moroccan bribery of members of the European Parliament, as a case that casts doubts on this body’s assumed democratic and normative input to EU foreign policymaking. We place the analysis in the context of the ‘parliamentarization’ of the EU-Morocco-Western Sahara triangle and the (para)institutional mechanisms of Rabat’s sway in the EP. We show that the EU-Morocco Joint Parliamentary Committee, while established as a regular instrument of parliamentary diplomacy, ended up becoming a conduit for corrupt connections and practices. In its actual operation, this official structure overlapped and converged with the more informal and elusive EU-Morocco Friendship Group, sponsored by Rabat as a means of parliamentary lobbying. We then explore the potential effects of this twofold influence channel in parliamentary votes and missions. Since 2009, relevant EP votes have mostly concerned parliamentary consent to EU-Morocco bilateral cooperation agreements, such as those on fisheries and agricultural trade, which included Western Sahara’s territory, thus going against the emerging case law from the Court of Justice of the EU. The links between ‘Moroccogate’ and the S&D group may have contributed to the parliamentary passing of these deals. Regarding the 2018 official EP mission to Western Sahara prior to the votes, besides its poor reporting, it was mired in controversy because its head was on the board of a foundation linked to Morocco. More broadly, this corruption scandal reveals the in-built tension inherent to the EP’s combination of parliamentary diplomacy and oversight roles.peer-reviewe