Earlier today, the EU Member States gave the EU Commission green light to open direct negotiations with Morocco with a view to obtain a new fisheries protocol - one that will also be applied to occupied Western Sahara.
The Polisario Front, the UN-recognised representation of the people of Western Sahara, reacted wih a press release in which they say that "today's decision of the EU Council leaves no other choice to the Frente Polisario but to initiate new legal proceedings, on behalf of the people of Western Sahara, before EU Courts".
Read Polisario's full press statement here.
In February this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco is only legally valid if not applied to Western Sahara. The ruling followed the reasoning behind the Court's judgment of December 2016, which stated that no EU trade or association agreement with Morocco could be applied to Western Sahara, without the consent of the people of the territory.
No consent has so far been sought by the Commission or Council.
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.