FIRST CLAIM: Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia are not part of African union (AU summit).
SECOND CLAIM: They once applied to be part of Europe and not being considered part of Africa but were unfortunately rejected.
SOURCE: Facebook
VERDICT: False and partly false, respectively
The recent Morocco exploits at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar have led to many debates on whether Morocco represents Africa, the Middle East or the Arab world, as can be seen here and here.
One Facebook post from a group called Football Updates, with 34 000 followers, claimed that Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia are not part of the African Union.
The long post went on to claim that the countries ‘once applied to be part of Europe and not being considered part of Africa (sic) but were unfortunately rejected’.
The post was liked by 5 200 people; shared 1900 times and has 8200 comments.
Morocco Leaves
Morocco joined the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 as one of the founding states on 25 May. It withdrew from the OAU in 1984 after full membership was extended to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
It has has a long-running dispute over Western Sahara, which it claims is part of its territory
Its absence from this multilateral forum prevented Morocco from participating in the refounding of the organisation in 2002, when it was transformed into the African Union (AU). It also meant it could not take part in regional development initiatives for Africa like NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development).
Application to the European Union
While out of the OAU, Morocco did apply in 1987 to become a Member of the Communities of the European Union. The application was rejected by the Council on the grounds that Morocco was not an European State.
Return to the fold
The plan to return to the AU was announced by Mohammed VI in July 2016 in a letter sent to the 27th Summit held in Rwanda, in which he justified his decision declaring that “quand un corps est malade, il est mieux soigné de l’interieur que de l’exterieur (when a body is sick, it is better cared for from the inside than from the outside)”.
Morocco did not set the SADR’s suspension as a condition for the country’s return.
The formal request for membership was made in September of the same year, although the aim of recovering “Morocco’s natural place in the African continent” was not achieved until four months later during the organisation of the 28th summit of the AU held in Addis Ababa in January 2017, when the pan-African organisation approved Morocco’s entry with the backing of 39 of its 54 members.
At the time of its re-admission into the continental body, then spokeswoman for EU Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini said, “The decision by the African Union to reintegrate Morocco as a member unites all of the African continent within its regional organisation.
“Regional cooperation and integration are crucial for prosperity, stability and peace. Both the African Union and Morocco are key partners for the EU. We look forward to working with both the African Union and Morocco to consolidate the EU’s growing partnership with Africa.”
Morocco, yes. The rest, nah
While Morocco did apply to be part of the European Union (not Europe as the claim says), the rest of the mentioned countries have never done so. Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia are founding members of the OAU and were part of the transition to the AU in July 2002.
Conclusion
The double claims that ‘Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia are not part of African union (AU summit) and that they once applied to be part of Europe and not being considered part of Africa but were unfortunately rejected’ have been rated as false and partly false, respectively.
Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia are part of the 55 member state African Union. The latter three have never left either the OAU or AU.
On the latter claim, it is concluded that it is partly false. Morocco did apply to be part of the European Union (though the claim says part of Europe), while the other three countries Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria are not on record as ever applying for admission to be part of Europe or the European Union.
