The General Court of the European Union has ruled that EU approval of fisheries and agriculture agreements with Morocco must be rescinded in a case brought by the Polisario Front which has been fighting for Western Sahara’s independence from Morocco.
The court rules that Polisario is recognised internationally as representing the people of Western Sahara and that the EU had failed to ensure that the Saharawi people had consented before approving fisheries and agriculture agreements with Morocco.
‘The Court takes the view that, in so far as the agreements at issue apply expressly to Western Sahara and, as regards the decision concerning the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, to the waters adjacent to that territory, they concern the people of that territory and require the consent of its people,’ the court stated.
The European Court of Justice had previously ruled that agreements on fisheries could not be applied to Western Sahara waters, when it laid down in 2018 that including those sea areas in such an agreement would contravene rules of general international law, including those referring to rights of self-determination.
The General Court of the European Union’s ruling is likely to be appealed, but its findings affect mainly Morocco, which is set to lose more than €200 million over four years, and Spain. 128 vessels from eleven EU nations fish in Moroccan waters under the agreement, of which 92 are Spanish.
