The EU Member States have given the European Commission green light to begin the process of negotiations, after having seen the results of the Commission’s “scoping exercise - a consultation of stakeholders likely to be affected by the envisioned Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.
But one major stakeholder has yet again been overlooked: the Saharawi people. If past experience is anything to go by, the EU is not likely to differentiate between the territories of Morocco and of occupied Western Sahara.
On 26 June 2012, 31 Saharawi NGOs from the occupied territories and the refugee camps in southwest Algeria, wrote a letter to the European Commission requesting occupied Western Sahara be excluded from the scope of the DCFTA, so as to be in line with international law.
Though the Commission referred to the importance of meeting with local civil society groups in its partner country, no effort was made to meet the Saharawi groups and discuss their concerns.
Pending the Moroccan government’s acceptance of the results of the European Commission’s scoping exercise, official negotiations will kick off on 25-26 February 2013 in Morocco.
The DCFTA will allow for Morocco’s progressive economic integration into the EU single market, offering the country more opportunities to export its goods to the EU and to attract European investments. In return, the EU countries will be granted better access to the Moroccan market.
One of the richest coastlines in the world
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.
The CJEU Court Cases
Keeping track of the many legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara is not easy. This page offers an overview of the cases concerning the territory that have been before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Tūhana human rights advisors ignore human rights
A consultancy hired to assess phosphate imports from occupied Western Sahara into New Zealand concludes there is no problem.
MEPs push back on Commission over Western Sahara in EU–Morocco trade
MEPs from across the political spectrum sharply criticised the European Commission over its handling of EU-Morocco trade relations covering occupied Western Sahara, raising concerns over legality, transparency and an apparent disregard for Parliament’s role.