The European Court of Justice has definitively annulled two European trade agreements with Morocco, stating they were made "in violation of the principles of self-determination".
The court invalidated the 2019 agricultural and fisheries agreements with Morocco because it was not demonstrated that the people of Western Sahara had consented to the deal.
Consent was a condition for the validity of these accords. This consent could be "presumed" if the agreements had provided "precise, tangible and substantial" benefits to the population, which the court found was not the case.
With this ruling, the court upholds an earlier decision by the General Court of the European Union, which nullified the agreements in 2021. The fisheries agreement has since expired.
The agricultural trade agreement will remain in effect for another twelve months to ensure legal certainty and to avert the "serious negative consequences" of immediate cancellation on the EU’s external relations.
The ruling is a victory for Polisario, the movement that has advocated for the independence of Western Sahara for decades.
After Spain withdrew in 1975, Morocco largely annexed the territory, but sovereignty over the area remains disputed. Morocco controls approximately 80% of the region, while Polisario controls about 20%.
In another ruling on Friday, the court also decided that melons and tomatoes grown in Western Sahara must be labelled as originating from this territory, rather than from Morocco.
