Maghreb – Study on decentralised cooperation between regional authorities (2015)

The regional situation weighs heavily on the existence of the decentralised cooperation in Arab Maghreb. There are two factors that need to be scrutinised in this respect. On the one hand, the regional zone is not incorporated politically or economically. Even the border between Morocco and Algeria is closed. On the other hand, the five countries in the zone have made different political decisions since their independence, which has caused violent upheavals and has also resulted in the breach of diplomatic relations. A permanent feature should be outlined. These countries were built on the lines of a strong and centralised State that has often opposed the security challenges in the vague desire of decentralisation. Morocco, however, is different from the rest because of significant reforms were undertaken recently. The legal frameworks anticipate the practice of the decentralised cooperation in most cases although they contain considerable limitations. The supervisory authority has a prominent role.

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