Brussels, 11/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The ruling of the General Court of the EU, which called into question the application, on the territory of the Western Sahara, of part of the agreement on agricultural trade between the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco (see EUROPE 11450) and caused a great outcry from Rabat, will be discussed by ministers at the EU-Morocco Association Council in Brussels on Monday 14 December.
Although, for the EU, this ruling does not call into question the bilateral agreements concluded with Morocco, it nevertheless risks setting a precedent and damaging the EU's relations with a Euro-Mediterranean country with which it enjoys a privileged relationship. Rabat is a leading partner for the EU - both in economic relations and in political and security relations. The EU has always tried not to interfere directly in the dispute over the Western Sahara (especially given Spain's involvement), leaving it up to the UN to find a solution.
The ruling of the General Court on Thursday 10 December complicates this relationship because it has immediate effect, ruling the Western Sahara out of the scope of application for part of the free trade agreement called into question. If the EU decides to appeal, the appeal will not have a suspensive effect. This means that only the Court of Justice, through a ruling, will be able to break the effects of the General Court's ruling. The EU institutions are now reflecting on the steps to be taken “in order to define the different options”, including “preparatory work with a view to appealing”, said High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on Friday 11 December. The Council nevertheless already plans to appeal this ruling, perhaps on Monday 14 December.
While the ruling only concerns part of the free trade agreement, its scope could go beyond this framework. Indeed the Polisario Front was recognised as being a representative of the Sahrawi people, which is, according to the General Court, “directly and individually concerned” by the agreement concluded between Morocco and the EU. The way is therefore paved for this ruling to become a precedent, a manager from the Court told EUROPE, and for other bilateral agreements to be contested successfully, probably binding the EU to determine its position as regards the Western Sahara.
Rabat has understood this risk. Morocco's minister for communication and government spokesperson responded strongly on Friday, telling the Jeune Afrique newspaper that “Morocco rejects this decision” of the EU General Court. “We are asking the European leaders to take a clear and firm stance. Otherwise, this decision to cancel will push us to review all our bilateral relations and will have an impact on all our agreements”, he said. Mogherini's assurances that “the EU does not consider that the bilateral agreements are called into question” by this ruling will not have reassured those to whom she is talking in Morocco.
The management of the political consequences of this ruling will take place in the shadow of another legal case. Indeed, the EU General Court has already been asked to give its judgment on another decision of the Council, following an appeal lodged in March 2014. This time, it is the 2013 decision on the conclusion of a protocol setting fishing possibilities and the financial counterpart provided for by the partnership agreement in the fishing sector between the EU and Morocco (Case T-180/14) which is contested by the Polisario Front - which invokes the same arguments as in the previous case. Elsewhere, a British jurisdiction turned to the Court of Justice in October 2015 regarding the labelling of goods from the Western Sahara, also casting doubt over the legality of the free trade agreements concluded between the EU and Morocco.
The consequences of this first ruling have already been spoken about, a few hours after the ruling was published by the General Court. Mogherini spoke to the Moroccan minister for foreign affairs, Salaheddine Mezouar and “they agreed to meet in Rome this weekend” to discuss it, ahead of the next EU-Morocco Association Council, said Mogherini's spokesperson.
According to Mhamed Khadad, a member of the national secretariat of the Polisario Front, the partial cancellation of this free trade agreement marks a diplomatic and legal gain in weight for his movement. “This important judgment is bound to have a strong impact on the general negotiations conducted under the aegis of the UN” because it gives a certain legitmacy to the Polisario Front and formally contests the “sovereignty” of Morocco on its “Southern provinces”, he said. He added that “the Polisario Front reiterates its availability to the Council of the EU and the European Commission to engage in immediate negotiations and without conditions”. He thus becomes a more legitimate and indispensable speaking partner than ever in the relations between the EU and Morocco. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys and Fathi B'Chir)