On 24 April 2018, the liberation movement of Western Sahara brought action against the EU Council for concluding an aviation agreement with Morocco that includes the territory of Western Sahara.
Western Sahara Resource Watch has learned that Polisario on 24 April this year initiatied a case to halt the application of EU-Morocco aviation agreement in Western Sahara.
Find the summary of the application submitted by Polisario with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) here.
Polisario requested the annulment of the agreement, arguing that the concluding parties, Morocco and the EU, are not competent to conclude such an agreement covering Western Sahara.
The Kingdom of Morocco was the first country outside Europe to sign such Aviation Agreement with the EU. The aviation deal with Morocco has been provisionally in force since December 2006. In February 2014, the EU Commission proposed an amended version of the deal, accounting for changes within the EU (three new Member States since 2006, and the Lisbon Treaty). This amendment was approved by the European Parliament in October 2017. The Member States concluded the deal on 22 January 2018.
On 16 May 2018, the Commission stated in the European Parliament that it is "currently examining if recent jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice has any implications for the Euro Mediterranean Aviation Agreement".
EU-Morocco Statement: autonomy without self-determination, law without lawfulness
A joint statement that came out of last week’s EU-Morocco Association Council asks readers to believe in a fiction: that an undefined autonomy plan imposed by an occupying power can satisfy the right to self-determination, and that respect for international law can coexist with the systematic ignoring of the EU’s own highest court.
Greenland Yes, Western Sahara No? The EU’s self-determination test
As the European Union rightly rallies behind Greenlanders’ right to decide their own future in the face of external pressure, a test of the EU’s real commitment to self-determination is quietly unfolding in Brussels.
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).
New report: Certified occupation
International certification standards embellish Morocco’s controversial trade with fisheries and agricultural products in occupied Western Sahara, new report documents.