The Frente POLISARIO entered with the registry of the Court of Justice of the European Union an action for annulment against the decision of 28th January 2019, whereby the European Union concluded an association agreement with Morocco, deciding that this agreement would apply also to the territory of Western Sahara.
In its judgment of 21st December 2016, the CJEU ruled that Morocco and Western Sahara were two distinct and separate territories, and that there could be economic activity on the territory only with the consent of the people of Western Sahara. These principles were confirmed by two judgments of 2018, concerning fishing and airspace.
The POLISARIO Front had immediately demonstrated to negotiate the agreements necessary for the development of the territory, in compliance with the decisions of the CJEU. European leaders have made another choice. As the Court said that there could be no “de facto application”, they imagined a “law enforcement” mechanism, inventing an explicit process of extending the EU agreement / MOROCCO on the territory of Western Sahara. This is a serious violation of the principle of sovereignty.
While the Court had ruled that the only option was the consent of the people, European leaders took up the old colonialist stance, believing that their action “brings benefits to the population”.
Throughout the two years between the judgment of 21 December 2016 and the new agreement of 28 January 2019, the POLISARIO Front has multiplied the interventions to say that this process was unacceptable because it violated its sovereign rights. In an attempt to argue, the European Parliament mandated a commission, whose French President Mrs. LALONDE had to resign when it was discovered that she was financed by the Moroccan lobby!
The POLISARIO Front has always acted strictly in accordance with international law, based on the principle of self-determination. In 1975, it opposed with armed resistance, justified by the Moroccan invasion of its territory, and since 1990, it respects the cease-fire negotiated under the aegis of the UN. It is present in all the negotiations to allow a democratic solution of the conflict through the holding of a referendum of self-determination.
Mohmed KHADAD, member of the National Secretariat of the POLISARIO Front, insists on the importance of this recourse: “The POLISARIO Front deplores the attitude of the European leaders who did everything to circumvent the decisions of justice, by abusing their political power. By this recourse, we mark our confidence in justice “.
The POLISARIO Front will, in the coming days, take another action against the fisheries agreement, which was concluded under the same conditions.
Bir Lehlu, April 29, 2019
