“Rabat is a strategic partner”

The CJEU ruled in favor of Polisario Front and definitively annulled the agreements on fishing and agricultural products signed in 2019 between the EU and Morocco considering that they violate the principle of self-determination. The reason is that the people of Western Saharawhose territory and adjacent waters are covered by the pacts, did not give its consent.

Another of the failures requires that the labels of melons and tomatoes harvested in the Western Sahara mention this territory, and not Morocco, as the country of origin. The sentences represented a hard blow for the Government of Pedro Sanchez and other member states such as Germany or France, which in recent years have abandoned the defense of a self-determination referendum and have supported Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara.

Just hours after the rulings were published, a cascade of reactions began to occur, both in Brussels and in the capitals, in defense of Morocco’s position. Support for the Rabat Government (completely ignoring the Polisario Front) that has reached the maximum level: the European Council.

At the summit held this Thursday in Brussels, the heads of State and Government of the 27 have introduced in the conclusions a specific paragraph on Morocco, in which they take note of the rulings of the CJEU, but demand their power to decide on foreign policy.

“The European Council reaffirms the great value that the EU attaches to its strategic partnership with Morocco and reiterates the need to preserve and continue strengthening close relations with Morocco in all areas“says the text approved unanimously by European leaders.

What is at stake is not only the intrinsic value of the agreements annulled by the CJEU. The most important for Spain It is fishing, since 92 of the 138 licenses that operate In the area they correspond to their flag, specifically, to the Andalusian, Galician and Canarian fleets. This agreement, for which Rabat has collected 208 million euros, expired on July 17, 2023 and has not been renewed pending the ruling.

Regarding the agreement to liberalize trade in agricultural products, the judges have decided maintain its validity for a period of twelve months “taking into account the serious negative consequences for the external action of the Union that its immediate annulment would entail and for reasons of legal certainty.”

What really worries Spain and the EU is that Morocco breaks its collaboration in matters considered essential, such as fight against irregular immigrationagainst terrorism and against drug trafficking. There is already a precedent: when the CJEU ruled in 2016 for the first time that the agreements between Brussels and Morocco are not applicable to the Sahara, the Government from Rabat decided to officially suspend all relations with the EU in protest.

Now, Morocco maintains that “is not considered affected at all” by the rulings of the CJEU, which it says contain “obvious legal errors and suspicious factual errors”. In a statementthe Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the EU to adopt “the necessary measures to respect its international commitments, preserve the achievements of the association and provide the Kingdom with the legal security to which it is legitimately entitled as a partner of the EU on various issues strategic”

“In this context, Morocco reiterates its constant position of not sign any agreement or legal instrument that does not respect its territorial integrity and its national unity,” the statement concludes.

The first to respond to Rabat’s demands were the president of the Commission herself, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of community diplomacy, Josep Borrell. Both published a joint statement on the same day as the rulings. “In close cooperation with Morocco, the EU firmly intends to preserve and further strengthen its close relations with this country in all areas of the partnership between Morocco and the EU, in accordance with the principle of pacta sunt servanda (pacts must be fulfilled),” the statement states.

In the following hours, this statement was retweeted or taken up with similar words by countries such as Spain, France, GermanyPortugal, Belgium, Netherlands or Hungarywho holds the rotating presidency of the Council. “The relationship between the EU and Morocco is strategic and France will continue to work with its European partners to strengthen exchanges, especially economic ones, and to safeguard the achievements of the association,” defends the statement from the Government of Paris.

In parallel with the European Council’s declaration on Morocco, the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee debated the future of the fisheries agreement. There, the Spanish MEPs have asked the Commission to sign a new pact, but the Community Executive has still not given any clue about its strategy to overcome the rulings of the CJEU.

“Just yesterday (on Wednesday) Morocco and Russia extended their fishing agreement. Therefore, the space we leave is occupied by others who do not fish as sustainably as we do and are not exactly our friends either. It is time for the Commission to get its act together,” requested the PSOE MEP. Nicolás González Casares.

The popular Francisco Millán Mon He highlighted the importance of the relationship with Morocco, “which is a privileged partner of the EU within the framework of the southern neighborhood.” “We ask a clear roadmapwith deadlines and actions, that make it possible to update and renew the agreement, that complies with the sentence and that provides stability solutions to international relations and international law,” requests Oihane Agirregoitiathe PNV MEP.