Giving its reaction on Tuesday 13 September to the opinion delivered the same day by the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU on the action it has lodged against Morocco, the Council, the Commission and a number of EU member states (case C-104/16P; see EUROPE 11450-11623 and 11626), the Polisario Front has welcomed the opinion which “confirms that Morocco has no sovereignty over the Western Sahara”.
In its statement, Polisario states that the Advocate General makes the key point that the Western Sahara does not form part of the territory of Morocco, and consequently neither the EU-Morocco association agreement nor the liberalisation agreement apply to it.
In the view of Polisario, the Court of Justice is about to confirm the crucial principle of Morocco’s non-sovereignty over the Western Sahara. The opinion is consistent with a response given by High Representative Federica Mogherini to a parliamentary question, indicating that, on its web sites, the EU had amended the map of Morocco, removing the Sahara in order to bring it into line with United Nations practices and standards and also international law. The Polisario Front says, therefore, that it is calmly awaiting the Court’s ruling and remains available for any frank and honest discussion with the Council or European Commission.
The above case will be decisive for two others on which decisions are awaited: - one between the Polisario Front and the Council (case T-180/14) in which the Polisario is seeking the annulment of the protocol between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco setting fishing opportunities and the financial compensation; - and a second (case C-266/16) where the High Court of Justice (England and Wales) requested a preliminary ruling on 13 May 2016, in a case alleging that UK Revenue and Customs has, under the EU-Morocco association agreement, been applying a preferential rate to Morocco for fish oil from the Western Sahara. (Original version in French by Fathi B’Chir)