Europe: the trap that could exclude Moroccan companies
Moroccan companies could continue to respond to calls for tender and benefit from European Union funding after 2028. But Brussels would retain the power to reserve certain contracts for European suppliers when it considers its strategic interests to be under threat.
On paper, Moroccan companies would not be excluded from the future Instrument for Europe in the World, which is intended to govern the European Union’s external action between 2028 and 2034. The project opens public procurement, grants and contracts to companies established in the countries of the southern neighbourhood, of which Morocco is a part.
On Bladi.net : article 122391
A Moroccan company could therefore, in principle, participate in a European call for tenders for works, supplies or services. However, this access would not be automatic for all funding. The conditions would depend on the project, the management method selected and the restrictions decided by the European institutions.
Brussels can close the door again
The main risk lies in Article 20 of the proposal. The European Commission could restrict access to certain contracts for reasons of security, strategic dependence, effectiveness of action or protection of the Union’s interests.
This provision could potentially allow Brussels to reserve certain components of a project for European suppliers, including when the operation is carried out and financed in Morocco. A Moroccan company that was otherwise eligible could thus be excluded from a contract involving technology, equipment or infrastructure deemed sensitive.
This possibility is highlighted by the report “Tied aid and strategic procurement” published by the European Parliament, at the request of the development committee. Its authors believe that the conditions allowing this European preference to be activated remain too broad and insufficiently regulated.
The proposal also authorizes the direct award of certain grants to private companies established in the European Union, without an open call for competition. This mechanism could notably concern critical raw materials, digital infrastructure and climate-related investments.
Moroccan companies could then risk losing direct access to certain funding and being confined to the role of subcontractors for a European group. Some of the jobs, skills and economic value created by these projects could thus escape Morocco’s productive sector.
The report fears the establishment of European aid effectively tied to suppliers from member states. The OECD estimates it cites put the additional cost of goods and services at between 15 and 30% when aid is conditional on using companies from the donor country.
For Morocco, the consequences could continue after the project is completed: higher maintenance costs, dependence on foreign technologies and additional delays in obtaining equipment or spare parts.
The authors therefore recommend strictly limiting exemptions, guaranteeing local companies a place and requiring more technology and skills transfers.
On Bladi.net : article 122239
This study does not represent the official position of the European Parliament. Nevertheless, it highlights a major contradiction: Moroccan companies would officially remain authorized to participate in European funding, while they could be excluded as soon as Brussels decides to favour its own suppliers.