A new EU trade agreement that is set to boost the personal fortune of King Mohamed VI of Morocco is facing opposition because it promotes the exploitation of disputed territory of the Western Sahara. Source: The Telegraph, 29 Jan 2012.
During the days before Christmas, a vessel owned by the Danish shipping company Lauritzen set off from Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco. According to the UN, the Moroccan phosphate exploitation is illegal. By DanWatch, 30 Dec 2011.
FMC Corporation states that they have stopped importing phosphates from Western Sahara to Spain and that they should never have been kicked out of the Norwegian government's pension fund for lack of ethics.
The Australian Institute of International Affairs hosted an event in Melbourne on Wednesday 5th October on the issue of Western Sahara under the title: Western Sahara and its Phosphate Rock: is Australia in a Hard Place?
Polish business newspaper erroneously placed Western Sahara within Morocco. Polish Africa group tries to rectify the error.
The Saharawis continue denouncing the plunder of their country. A few dozen dozens of Saharawis now gathered in front of the offices of the Moroccan human rights commission in occupied territory.
San Leon’s seismic surveys will be conducted in the northern parts of occupied Western Sahara from July 2011, in violation of international law. Placements from investor George Soros might have been crucial.
Email to Longreach Oil and Gas Ltd, sent 8 July 2011.
Today, the European Parliament’s agricultural committee issued its opinion that Parliament should refuse its consent to the conclusion of the agricultural agreement with Morocco. “The issue of the Western Sahara territories, with regard to which Parliament's legal services have been asked for an opinion, calls for careful assessment”, states the Committee’s report.
An upcoming explanation of vote from the German government indicates that Germany might have been misled as they considered their position on the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement in occupied Western Sahara.
2 Swedish students insist that the EU ambassador to Rabat had no reason to claim that "independent institutions" have supported the EU fisheries in Western Sahara, as he claimed in a press conference last year. Their correspondence with the EU delegation to Morocco reveals that the ambassador was only refering to the EU itself.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A politically divisive fishing pact between Morocco and the European Union has been costing Europe millions of euros a year and could deplete Morocco's fish stocks, according to a confidential report seen by Reuters.