23 March 2017, WSRW letter to Atlas Copco. Download here.
Atlas Copco reply mail to WSRW, 10 April 2017 below:
"Thank you for your letter regarding Atlas Copco’s operations in Western Sahara.
As stated in previous communication, as well as on our website, Atlas Copco’s sells products to a Moroccan customer who also has one mine located in Western Sahara. In 2008, Atlas Copco sold two drill rigs to this site through the customer in Morocco. Atlas Copco has enhanced efforts to detect and ensure that no future indirect or direct sales in these regions go to projects that may violate international law. Atlas Copco always complies fully with all trade laws, regulations and sanctions. There is no new information that we can share about the concerned business or the customer.
Kind regards,
Sofia Svingby
Vice President Corporate Responsibility
Atlas Copco AB"
MEPs shocked by Commission's Western Sahara bypass
In a hearing at the European Parliament earlier this week, lawmakers expressed outrage at how the Commission sidestepped them to push through a new agreement covering occupied Western Sahara, in violation of EU Court rulings.
EU pushes secretive Morocco trade deal covering Western Sahara
As EU ambassadors give their green light to a new Morocco trade deal, the public is still denied access to the very agreement they are voting on - a striking case of secrecy in Brussels.
"A declaration of war" - new EU agreement reactions
A wave of reactions is rippling across Europe following the news that the EU is moving ahead with a new trade agreement in occupied Western Sahara. The vote is scheduled for tomorrow.
Commission Pushes EU-Morocco Trade Deal, Ignoring Democratic Processes and Saharawi Rights
WSRW can today reveal a leaked EU document showing plans to continue trading with products from occupied Western Sahara, in direct violation of earlier rulings by the EU Court of Justice. A vote will take place this Wednesday.