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Moroccans left money by parents see it blocked by state

6 October 2008

Moroccans left money by parents see it blocked by state

Moroccans emigrating to the Netherlands are being prevented from transferring money deposited in bank accounts there or invested in houses. The bulk of their money, including inheritance, is being blocked by the Moroccan state. Prompted by reports in the daily newspaper De Volkskrant, SP Euro-MP Erik Meijer has put a number of questions on the matter to the European Commission.

Erik MeijerErik Meijer, Member of the European Parliament for the SP, is urging the Commission to act in the interests of these new EU residents. Calling it 'a growing source of irritation' that immigrants who inherit money in Morocco can do nothing in Europe with their property, Meijer pointed out that this was "bad for their income level, their housing standards and their integration." Morocco regards emigrants and their descendants as "subjects living abroad" and treats them accordingly.

The SP Euro-MP wants to know what the Commission can do to further agreements with Morocco to ensure that Moroccan citizens in Europe no longer face such hindrances to their integration, to improve information about the law on property in Morocco and to put an end to the refusal by the official body responsible, the 'Office des Changes', to approve transfers of money.

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