The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in favor, this Friday, October 4, of the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria in Western Sahara, by definitively invalidating two trade agreements concluded between Morocco and the EU. A court decision not recognized by Rabat. These 2019 agreements on fishing and agriculture were concluded in “disregard of the principles of self-determination” of the Sahrawi people, the high court established in Luxembourg ruled in a ruling.
The European Commission reacted by highlighting the “deep friendship” and the “solid and multifaceted cooperation” between the EU and Morocco, stressing that this would be taken “to a higher level in the weeks and months to come” . In other words, the Commission will have to renegotiate a trade agreement with Morocco, to take into account its annulment by the Court of Justice of the EU. The EU “intends to preserve and continue to strengthen its close relations with Morocco in all areas of this partnership, in accordance with the principle ‘pacta sunt servanda'”, a Latin phrase meaning that conventions must be respected, affirmed the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
Rabat strongly criticized the content of this decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which contains, in its eyes, “obvious legal errors” and “suspicious errors of fact”. “Morocco considers itself in no way concerned by the decision” of the Court, underlined the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explaining that it did not participate in “any phase” of the procedure. He also calls on the EU to take “the necessary measures to respect (its) international commitments”.
“Necessary measures”
The decision of this court on Friday has no short-term consequences. The fisheries agreement had already expired in July 2023, and the Court extended the application of the agreement concerning agricultural products by one year from Friday. The consent of the Sahrawi people to the conclusion of these agreements was one of the conditions for their validity, explained the Court of Luxembourg. However, it ruled that even if consultations had been carried out in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony which had almost entirely come under Moroccan control, they did not signify consent.
This consent could have been retained if the application of these agreements had given “a precise, concrete and substantial advantage”, which was not the case, according to the Court. As a result, requests to annul a European court decision taken at first instance in 2021 were rejected on Friday. At the time, the EU court annulled the two EU-Morocco trade agreements.
In another ruling, the EU Court of Justice also stipulated that the labeling of melons and tomatoes harvested in Western Sahara must list that territory, and not Morocco, as the country of origin. The Confédération Paysanne, a French agricultural union, had asked France to ban the importation of melons and tomatoes originating from the territory of Western Sahara, wrongly labeled, according to it, as coming from Morocco. The Court agreed with him, ruling that the country of origin was indeed Western Sahara and not Morocco.
A coveted territory
A vast desert expanse of 266,000 km2 located to the north of Mauritania, Western Sahara is the last territory on the African continent whose post-colonial status is not settled: Morocco controls more than 80% in the west, the Polisario Front less than 20% in the east, all separated by a wall of sand and a buffer zone under the control of UN peacekeepers.
At the end of 2020, Donald Trump’s United States recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the former Spanish colony, breaking the international consensus on the current status of the disputed territory.