Geneva – The Special Adviser to the President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) on Natural Resources and Legal Affairs, Abi Bishraya Bashir, affirmed on Tuesday that the new trade agreement approved by the European Union with Morocco, which explicitly includes the territory of Western Sahara, flagrantly violates international and European law. He stated that whether the deal is implemented “provisionally” or “finally ratified,” its fate will mirror that of the previous agreement annulled by the European Court of Justice.
Speaking to the Algerian Press Service (APS), Bashir explained that the new accord constitutes a clear legal and political violation, both in form and substance. He pointed out that negotiations between the European Commission and Morocco occurred over several months without prior authorization from the EU Council. The vote took place on September 10, and the Commission announced the deal with Morocco just five days later, on September 15, raising serious questions about its legitimacy.
“No one can accept that such a complex agreement with far-reaching economic and political implications could be finalized in just five days,” he stated. Bashir added that the Commission sought to impose a fait accompli by opting for a “provisional application” of the deal instead of awaiting final ratification, thereby bypassing the European Parliament and avoiding open debate through written correspondence.
The official noted that the European Parliament’s Foreign Trade Committee Chairman and several members criticized the Commission’s methods and its attempt to legitimize Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara. One of the main violations, he stressed, lies in the negotiation process itself—conducted exclusively with the Moroccan occupier while deliberately excluding the Sahrawi people and their sole legitimate representative, the Polisario Front.
From a legal standpoint, Bashir highlighted that the agreement deliberately circumvents the ruling of the European Court of Justice issued on October 4, 2024, which reaffirmed that any accord involving Western Sahara’s natural resources requires “the consent of the Sahrawi people,” not that of settlers or residents brought in by the occupying power. He underscored that the deal also breaches the principle affirming that Western Sahara and Morocco are “two separate and distinct territories” and that Morocco holds no sovereignty whatsoever over the region.
In response to the EU’s attempt to disguise the origin of products from occupied territories by inventing designations such as “area or region of origin,” Bashir reminded that the European Court of Justice clearly ruled that products from Western Sahara must bear the label “Western Sahara” with the code “EH,” distinct from Morocco’s “MA.”
Concluding his statement, the Sahrawi official reaffirmed that the Polisario Front, as the sole legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, strongly denounces and firmly rejects this illegal agreement. He confirmed that the movement will once again resort to the European judiciary, as confirmed by previous rulings—particularly that of October 4, 2024—to overturn the deal just as it did with earlier agreements that sought to legitimize Morocco’s unlawful occupation of Western Sahara.
