The French-Moroccan Parliamentary friendship group reiterated, on Tuesday, support for Morocco's initiative to grant substantial autonomy to its Southern provinces as a fair, realistic and lasting solution to the Sahara's artificial conflict. Speaking during a meeting held in Rabat with Moroccan counterparts, the French parliamentary group members reiterated support for the Moroccan Sahara proposal

Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, underlined, here Tuesday, the need to reach a "reasonable" agreement on the Sahara issue under the aegis of the UN, calling on the parties concerned to "show flexibility."  "Spain has always been convinced of the necessity to reach a reasonable agreement among the parties under the aegis of the UN," he said at a joint press conference with his Moroccan counterpart, Abbas El Fassi. 

Granting a "larger autonomy" to the Moroccan Southern provinces constitutes a suitable solution to the Sahara conflict, spokesman for the conservative Popular Party (PP) in the Spanish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission, Gustavo de Aristegui, underlined.In a statement published Monday by "Canarias 7" daily, the Spanish MP criticized the polisario which has shown over the past two decades a reluctance to change, saying that contrary to the Polisario’s obstinate stance, Morocco "made a lot of progress".

Moroccan Foreign Minister, Taib Fassi Fihri, denounced, on Friday, recent declarations and writings alleging human rights abuses in Morocco's southern provinces.In a statement to the press, during a special session of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council to mark the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights (UDHR), Fassi Fihri recalled that the Moroccan delegation had affirmed that the nobility of human rights could in no case be exploited for narrow political schemes.

 The European Union (EU) supports the UN-sponsored efforts to reach a solution to the Sahara issue, said on Thursday, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

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