The recent decision of the European Court of Justice (see EUROPE 11789), which challenges the exclusive competence of the European Commission in the conclusion of free trade agreements, raises questions in Morocco. This opinion "shakes up the European policy on free trade", it is said in Rabat, where the prospect of having to obtain the approval of all the member state parliaments is cause for concern.
The Court's decision, which focused on the EU-Singapore free trade agreement that was initialled on 20 September 2013, reportedly risks having repercussions on all future trade agreements or on those still awaiting ratification. According to Moroccan weekly online economic publication LesEco.ma, this involves the agreements in which the arrangements "cover different related subjects, such as intellectual property protection, investments, public procurement, competition and sustainable development, in addition to the classic trade framework on reducing customs duties and non-tariff barriers". This "is the case of the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement (DCFTA)" currently being negotiated between Morocco and the EU. This "implies a certain impact on the EU", the online weekly states, seeing a "new loophole" which "will have the main effect of making the adoption of certain agreements more difficult as they will be subject to political uncertainties and to the pro or anti-free trade sensitivities of certain national parliaments".
Bubbling under the surface is the Western Sahara affair, which is a sensitive subject for a Morocco that is claiming territorial sovereignty here. This is the case, even if according to an authorised Moroccan source that has talked to EUROPE, the double ratification required by the Court will be applicable in the case of the DCFTA (an agreement which also covers services) but not in the existing agreements, like those currently being contested on agriculture and fisheries.
This issue, which is linked to the December 2016 ruling of the Court on the specific case of the Western Sahara (see EUROPE 11694, 11718), is currently the subject of joint technical discussions. A European External Action Service source confirms that the solution sought formed the subject of an initial proposal sent to the Council on 19 April 2017, which should enable "clarification on the status of products from the Western Sahara" that are exported via Morocco and under its specific agreement with the EU. No clarification on its content has been given thus far, but, put simply, it is said that it "is now up to the co-legislators to move this issue forward".
Florent Marcellesi MEP (Greens/EFA, Spain) unveiled part of it in a letter dated 16 May 2017, of which EUROPE has seen a copy. According to his clarifications, the EU and Morocco would reportedly correct the scope of coverage of the agreements between the two parties by referring to a "population of the Sahara" and not to a "people". This change would mean there would not have to be any contravention of the UN provisions, which might bring an uneasy mediation onto the territory. The representativeness of the Sahrawis would be ensured through elected representatives from the territory who are close to Moroccan ideas, he says, and not through a Polisario which the Court of Justice has not strengthened in its status. (Original version in French by Fathi B’Chir)