The Middle East and North Africa region for decades have taken a prominent place in the EU‘s policy as a greatest collective donor in the world. Events of the "Arab Awakening" (2010-2011) gave a new impetus to the development of the relations between the European institutes with the countries of the Southern Mediterranean, including the first privileged EU partner in the region – the Kingdom of Morocco. The EU, on the one hand, has significantly increased its assistance to Rabat, and on the other, has tried to rethink the principles of cooperation with Morocco. In official documents and statements greater emphasis was placed on democracy promotion. However, in reality major amount of assistance was provided in the form of direct budget support, and among Moroccan civil society organizations the EU supported those loyal to the authorities. Regardless the significant renovation of the instruments of cooperation, in general the logic of interaction between the EU and Morocco remained the same as before the Arab awakening: economic interests and the imperatives of security cooperation were still more important for the EU than promotion of democracy in Morocco.