The European Union will now distinguish the territory of the Western Sahara from that of Morocco, especially as regards energy cooperation with Morocco, the European Commission has indicated, in application of the European Court of Justice ruling at the end of 2016 (see EUROPE 11694).
The news was given by European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete in response to a question from three Green/EFA members of the European Parliament – Florent Marcellesi (Spain), Josep-Maria Terricabras (Spain) and Jill Evans (UK).
The MEPs' question is linked to the requirement to notify the European Commission of the amount of electricity produced by a third country power plant. A European directive (2009/28/EC) acknowledges member states' participation in joint projects with third countries and authorises the accounting of electricity imported from third countries in the member states' objectives.
The question from the three MEPs is specifically aimed at Morocco – a country with which the Commission signed a joint statement on 17 November 2016 on future cooperation on renewable energy.
Marcellesi, Terricabras and Evans asked the Commission if it intended to ensure the requirement to respect international law and United Nations' principles – a direct reference to the dispute on the sovereignty of the Western Sahara.
In his reply, Cañete says that the statement will be implemented taking due account of the distinct and separate status of the territory of the Western Sahara under international law. The Commission will be liable to a case-by-case assessment taking account of the fact that electricity of renewable origin is usually marketed by commercial companies.
Cañete's reply gives an initial insight into the attitude that the Commission could adopt following the 21 December 2016 Court of Justice ruling, which stated that the association and liberalisation agreements concluded with Morocco should not be applied to the Western Sahara because considering this territory as part of Morocco is ruled out. (Original version in French by Fathi B’Chir)