PUSL.- On 13 January, Sandra Pereira MEP from the Portuguese Communist Party questioned the European Commission about the presence and activity of foreign companies in the occupied territories of Western Sahara following the publication of the report, for the year 2020, on companies that invest illegally in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
Question:
Question for written answer E-000152/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Sandra Pereira (The Left)
Subject: Companies in the occupied territories of Western Sahara
A 2020 report on illegal corporate investment in the occupied territories of Western Sahara was recently published.
Its findings show that dozens of EU-based companies are operating or have established subsidiaries in those territories, in breach of international law and numerous CJEU rulings.
It further states that agreements signed by the EU with the Kingdom of Morocco have created incentives for companies to set up and operate in these occupied territories.
It adds, however, that numerous companies have seen the error of their ways and ceased operating in the territories in the period.
The Polisario Front has declared the end of its ceasefire in the wake of the events of 13 November 2020, when Moroccan occupying forces carried out a number of military operations in the Sahrawi Guerguerat region, near the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, breaching the terms of the UN-sponsored ceasefire in force since 1991.
Can the Commission say:
whether the EU-based companies operating in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, in breach of international law and CJEU rulings, are receiving financial support from EU funds?
