The Commission has proposed amending its trade deal with Morocco to comply with an EU court ruling on the disputed territory of Western Sahara, according to a document obtained by Euractiv.<\/p>\n
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony mostly occupied by Morocco since 1975, is recognised by the UN as a non-self-governing territory. Its status remains disputed, with Morocco claiming sovereignty and the Sahrawi independence movement, Polisario Front, demanding self-determination.<\/p>\n
In October 2024, the EU\u2019s top court\u00a0ruled<\/a> that the 2019 EU-Morocco trade agreements on fisheries and agricultural products were concluded in breach of the principle of self-determination, as the people of Western Sahara did not consent.\u00a0Brussels was given 12 months to comply.<\/p>\n According to the tabled\u00a0draft<\/a>, obtained by Euractiv, the labels of these products must now indicate Western Sahara as their origin, while conformity certificates will\u00a0still be issued by Moroccan authorities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new agreement uses the term \u2018region of origin\u2019 for products from Western Sahara, but this doesn\u2019t exist in EU or international trade law,\u201d a source close to the matter, and granted anonymity to speak, said. \u201cIt looks like the Commission is ready to erase Western Sahara\u2019s customs code and replace it with this vague term.\u201d<\/p>\n The EU top court had previously ruled<\/a> that goods from Western Sahara must be labelled as such, not as Moroccan. But enforcement has been patchy, and Rabat has rejected the Court\u2019s framing outright, reaffirming<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cMorocco\u2019s sovereignty over the Moroccan Sahara\u201d is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, it\u2019s just a rerun of the previous deal with Morocco, with weaker wording to keep Rabat happy,\u201d the source said. \u201cIt won\u2019t stand up in Court, and the Commission knows it. They\u2019re just trying to buy time\u201d.<\/p>\n Consent replaced with benefits<\/p>\n The Commission\u2019s proposal rests on an idea that the Court itself outlined: consent from the people of Western Sahara can, in theory, be \u201cpresumed\u201d if the deal does not create obligations for them and instead delivers tangible, verifiable benefits, monitored by a control mechanism.<\/p>\n To fit this test, the EU pledges money for water, energy and anti-desertification projects, desalination plants, as well as humanitarian aid for the Sahrawi refugee camps around Tindouf in Algeria, and support for education and culture.<\/p>\n \u201cPresumed consent exists only under very narrow and transparent criteria, not as a loophole to bypass judicial standards,\u201d Sara Eyckmans of Western Sahara Resource Watch told Euractiv.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil Sahrawi participation happens, the EU has no credibility on human rights and the rule of law.\u201d Not doing so \u201crisks legitimising an unlawful occupation,\u201d she added, warning of \u201ca troubling precedent for other territorial conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n MEPs sidelined<\/p>\n