"I believe that the autonomy proposal is a good initiative that should be encouraged and discussed," Mr. Roucek said at the end of his meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representative,  Mustapha Mansouri, Chairman of the Foreign, Defense, and Islamic Affairs Committee, Fouad Ali El Himma, and Chairman of the Socialist group in the parliament, Ahmed Zaidi.

    According to the Euro-deputy, it is better to give a chance to this proposal as a platform for discussion instead of "keeping the status quo that leads to nowhere and serves nobody."

  He also expressed hope that Algeria will proceed with opening the borders with Morocco, as both countries should deal with common issues like terrorism, illegal immigration, and drug trafficking.

    For his part, Mr. Mansouri said that he tackled with the European official means to boost cooperation between the Moroccan and European parliaments, notably in immigration, terrorism, and the situation in the Middle East.

    The dispute between the North African country and the Algerian-backed separatist movement, Polisario, dates back to 1976 with Polisario’s claims to the territory, retrieved from the Spanish rule a year earlier.

     Morocco, in an effort to settle this conflict, had, last year, proposed substantial autonomy to the Sahara region.

   The fourth round of negotiations held on March (16-18)  in Manhasset, NY, ended  last week with the parties agreeing to continue the negotiations at a date to be determined by common agreement. The previous three rounds were held at the same venue in June, August and January.

News and events concerning Western Sahara issue/ Corcas