Morocco opted for restraint in its comments on developments in the case regarding the Western Sahara before the Court of Justice of the European Union, following the publication of the conclusions of the Advocate General, even though they are not unequivocally in its favour (see EUROPE 11623).
Until the Court returns its judgement, which it is expected to do in around two months' time, the Moroccan authorities have opted to lay particular emphasis on the points that shore up their position, in particular the invalidity of the judgement of the General Court of the EU of December 2015, which was the subject of the appeal brought by the Council of the EU, and above all the fact that the Polisario Front had no capacity or legitimacy to represent the economic interests of the population. Morocco has, however, declined to making any comment on the explicit assessment that the Saharan territory should not be considered as part of its own territory.
"The conclusions of the advocate general are crystal clear", said Socialist MEP Gilles Pargneaux (France), who is the chair of the EP-Morocco friendship group. "Polisario's complaint is unfounded and this is the main information to take away" from these conclusions, he added. He went on to say that this was good news, as it proves that the Polisario Front is by no means the only representative of the Saharan people.
He went on to stress that it is time to put an end to this affair, which is poisoning the EU's relations with a major partner, Morocco. Security cooperation, sharing intelligence, partnership for economic development, energy cooperation and fighting climate change are, he added, the issues that should be central to the work between Europe and the Kingdom of Morocco. (Original version in French by Fathi B'Chir)