Morocco and the European Union signed an agreement on October 3 that grants the EU preferential tariffs on agricultural goods from Morocco, including products originating from the disputed territory of Western Sahara. This was reported by Reuters, citing the North African country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.
In October 2024, the European Court of Justice had ruled that the previous trade agreement was invalid because it included goods from the disputed Western Sahara, which affected the interests of the people of the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). However, after France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and other countries recognized Rabat's sovereignty over the disputed province, Brussels decided to update the trade deal.
The de facto authorities of the SADR, the Polisario Front, reacted negatively to the new EU-Morocco agreement. They reiterated that European courts have repeatedly affirmed the distinct status of Western Sahara and argued that any agreements related to this territory must, in their view, receive the approval of the "Sahrawi people."
Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony on the west coast of Africa that gained independence in 1975. Since 1976, it has been the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Under the leadership of the Polisario Front and with support from Algeria, the SADR waged a long war against Morocco and Mauritania, both of which laid claim to its territory.
Mauritania withdrew from the conflict in 1979. In 1991, Morocco and the Polisario Front reached a ceasefire agreement under the condition of holding a referendum on the independence of Western Sahara, mediated by the UN. Later that year, the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was established to enable the people of Western Sahara to freely choose between integration with Morocco and independence. However, due to a number of reasons, the referendum has not yet taken place.
In late September, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau stated that Washington would support investment in projects in Western Sahara.
Alexander Kholodov
