On 24 April 2018, the liberation movement of Western Sahara brought action against the EU Council for concluding an aviation agreement with Morocco that includes the territory of Western Sahara.
Western Sahara Resource Watch has learned that Polisario on 24 April this year initiatied a case to halt the application of EU-Morocco aviation agreement in Western Sahara.
Find the summary of the application submitted by Polisario with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) here.
Polisario requested the annulment of the agreement, arguing that the concluding parties, Morocco and the EU, are not competent to conclude such an agreement covering Western Sahara.
The Kingdom of Morocco was the first country outside Europe to sign such Aviation Agreement with the EU. The aviation deal with Morocco has been provisionally in force since December 2006. In February 2014, the EU Commission proposed an amended version of the deal, accounting for changes within the EU (three new Member States since 2006, and the Lisbon Treaty). This amendment was approved by the European Parliament in October 2017. The Member States concluded the deal on 22 January 2018.
On 16 May 2018, the Commission stated in the European Parliament that it is "currently examining if recent jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice has any implications for the Euro Mediterranean Aviation Agreement".
Global Diligence defends operations on occupied land
The legal advisory firm Global Diligence, which presents itself as expert on ‘heightened due diligence’, misrepresents international law in occupied Western Sahara.
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.