Could North Africa join the EU?

Preposterous, one might say, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt let alone Saudi Arabia are not geographically European, one of the essential criteria for joining the EU, one would have thought.
The joint national and European parliament meeting documents seems to think so .
"Any debate on further enlargement to the south appears moot: the countries of North Africa or the Middle East, while unarguably important neighbours, would have difficulties making a credible claim to European Union.*” (footnote follows, which I quote in full: because it is important; “*Morocco explored this territory with an application for membership of the EEC in 1987; it was rejected because of the Treaty provision limiting to community membership to ‘European states’. However Geography as such does not provide a sufficient basis for defining the ultimate shape of the EU either: on the one hand with Cyprus the EU includes a country that culturally clearly belongs to Europe. On the other hand Turkey (Ed’s note: a candidate) lies with the greater part of its territory outside 'geographical Europe.'"
The main text does go on to say that “ultimate limits of the EU boil down to” future membership of Ukraine, Belarus, and the Caucasus - Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan."
However the document also states that “EU enlargement could theoretically lead to expansion of greater than 35 member states”.
Now consider the next paragraph, speaking of the EU’s mediterranean neighbours: “The Euro-mediterranean partnership and Barcelona process aimed at increasing political dialogue, stepping up economic and trade relations (Creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010). A document of March 2003 spoke of the EU’s neighbours as being a closer ring of friends with the prospect of economic integration with the EU, extending to the “four freedoms”, though subsequent action plans have toned down the “four freedoms”.
Finally, the document says “European neighbourhood policy” developed by the Commission in May 2004 in the EU offers its neighbours a privileged political and economic partnership, building upon a mutual commitment to common values.
So, sorted? Actually the Maghreb might be luckier than one thinks.
It is true that the document then says ultimate membership should be limited to the former Soviet republics; but the footnotes say that “geography” should not be the only definition. Indeed, if ‘mostly Asiatic’ Turkey - which would bring Europe to the borders of Iraq - or even more farflung Azerbaijan - a muslim state bordering Iran -- ever joins, then - the argument could surely be posed: why not a Europe, some may say, that ends in the Saharan desert.
The argument, when things get that far, might then be strengthened by membership, at that time, of the well established halfway house membership:
The document does not explicitly rule out offering North Africa the “four freedoms” - trade, services, movement of people - which is one of the most potent advantages of EU membership.
North Africa has friends who like all this.
The book Eurabia, by the academic Bat Ye’Or, alleges that there has been a long term conspiracy, going back decades, between elites and Arab establishments to bring about, ultimately, a single confederated entity - one powerful impetus being to shore up global French influence, whose elites have often treated Francophone North Africa as their baronial domain, with strong financial interests in the region, and for whom North Africa as part of Europe would revive Gallic dreams of a European-Mediterranean empire allowing France to play a more prominently leading role across Europe than presently. One of the aspects of the European-Arabic dialogue is the Euro-Med assembly,which meets regularly in Brussels, and whose activities might - if you are into conspiracy - be worth looking into.