Polisario Front to challenge Morocco-EU agriculture agreement
The Morocco-EU agricultural agreement being signed after amendments (via X)
The Polisario Front is set to challenge the new Morocco-EU agricultural deal which has been provisionally agreed at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The deal includes products grown in Western Sahara, according to government-friendly Yabilaadi via El Confidencial on November 20th. The Polisario argued that the Sahrawi people were not consulted in the process of the Morocco-EU deal.
The new trade agreement signed in October this year includes Agricultural and Fishery products from Morocco, ensuring continued access of Moroccan exports to European markets. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) had ruled in October 2024 that the European Commission was disregarding the rights of the people of Western Sahara by making agreements with Morocco.
Reuters reported on October 2nd this year that the agricultural deal was amended, with Morocco and the EU agreeing to use origin labels for the products so that products from the Western Sahara have the same tariff rates as those of Morocco. Products have to show either of the two specified labels; Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra or Dakhla‑Oued Eddahab, if they are from the Western Sahara.
Previously, the CJEU annulled the 2019 Morocco-EU agricultural agreement because the consent of the people of Western Sahara was not given. The court highlighted that the agreement “did not involve the people of Western Sahara, but rather the populations currently residing in the territory, regardless of whether they form part of that people.”Â
The judges further added that, “significant portion of this people now lives outside the territory, such consultations could not ensure their consent.”
The Polisario Front however, has not commented on the fishing agreement between Morocco and Russia.
After the UN defined Morocco’s autonomy plan as a feasible solution, the group has been under pressure to come to a solution. All the while, conditions in the Tindouf refugee camps are worsening.
Yabilaadi via El Confidencial, Reuters, Maghrebi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
