Netherlands reaffirms support for Moroccan Autonomy Plan

European-Moroccan relations look set to flourish as the Netherlands reaffirms support for Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara, according to the pro-Moroccan North Africa Post and agencies on April 8th.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen met with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, in Rabat between April 7th and 8th.

At an April 7th press briefing, Berendsen said, “The Netherlands considers that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the most feasible solution.”

Resolution 2797, or the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, would grant the Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.

The plan received widespread support at the UN Security Council in October 2025, with many viewing it as a realistic solution to the territorial dispute that had persisted since the end of Spanish colonial rule in 1975.

Dutch support for Moroccan sovereignty was previously expressed in December 2025 at a meeting in The Hague between Berendsen’s predecessor, David van Weel, and Bourita.

In supporting Resolution 2797, the Netherlands joined 130 nations in backing Moroccan sovereignty, including the majority of EU nations.

On April 2nd, UK minister Hamish Falconer reaffirmed British support for Resolution 2797; Britain was the third permanent member of the UN Security Council to endorse Moroccan sovereignty, after the US and France.

Despite widespread backing for Moroccan sovereignty, Algeria has rejected Resolution 2797 and continues to insist on holding an independence referendum.

Algeria backs the Polisario Front, a separatist militia that claims to fight for self-determination for the Sahrawi people, who are indigenous to the Western Sahara but largely reside in refugee camps due to the conflict.

The Tindouf Camps in Algeria are controlled by the Polisario Front, which has led to concerns about human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and recruitment of child soldiers.

Morocco joined an EU aid monitoring mechanism in January over concerns that the Polisario Front was inflating camp numbers to secure larger aid allocations and reselling supplies; the camps have also been used to smuggle weapons.

Concerns about growing extremism in the camps have also been raised, with a Hezbollah delegation allegedly visiting the Tindouf camps in late 2025.

Hezbollah and the Polisario Front receive Iranian funding, with Hezbollah being a designated terror group in Britain, the US and the EU.

The US has sought to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organisation, a move supported by experts and politicians from the UK, EU, European parliaments, Latin America and the Arab world.

Kurdish separatists also allegedly visited the Tindouf camps in January 2025, which added to concerns about extremists operating in the region.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org