A story published yesterday in the online Morocco news agency Anayir reveals that the holding 'Les Domaines' will be most affected by the ECJ Ruling. Les Domaines is owned by the King of Morocco. The king's holding owns large plantations and greenhouses in Dakhla, all the way south in Western Sahara, also known as Africa's last colony that has been largely military occupied by Morocco since 1975.
Just like in Morocco proper, the article reads, the farmable land in Dakhla is divided so that the biggest share goes to the royal holding, and the remainder is divided among other companies. In Dakhla, these are mainly French-Moroccan conglomerates. Read up on the tomato barons of Dakhla here.
The king's firm, Les Domaines, is excempt from paying taxes in Morocco because it is registered as a state company.
On 10 December 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union annulled the EU-Morocco Free Trade Agreement because it was also applied to Western Sahara - a territory to which Morocco has no sovereign mandate, the Court stated.
In 2012, WSRW published the report Label and Liability, going into the implications of the EU-Morocco Free Trade Agreement, looking exactly at the ownership of each plantation in Dakhla. It found that all 11 plantations are either owned by the King himself, or by large French/Moroccan companies. No Saharawis own plantations, and large settlement programmes were made to house all those Moroccan seasonal workers moving in to the territory.
Yesterday's article can also be downloaded here (pdf).
One of the richest coastlines in the world
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.
The CJEU Court Cases
Keeping track of the many legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara is not easy. This page offers an overview of the cases concerning the territory that have been before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Tūhana human rights advisors ignore human rights
A consultancy hired to assess phosphate imports from occupied Western Sahara into New Zealand concludes there is no problem.
MEPs push back on Commission over Western Sahara in EU–Morocco trade
MEPs from across the political spectrum sharply criticised the European Commission over its handling of EU-Morocco trade relations covering occupied Western Sahara, raising concerns over legality, transparency and an apparent disregard for Parliament’s role.