Polisario Front Condemns EU-Morocco Trade Deal Covering Western Sahara

By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1704 EAT on Monday 13 October 2025

BIR LAHLOU (Liberated Territories),

The Polisario Front has strongly criticized a new trade agreement between the European Union (EU) Council and the Kingdom of Morocco, which extends tariff preferences to products originating from Western Sahara, a disputed territory.

In a statement released Saturday, the Polisario Front denounced the agreement as “illegal” and in violation of international law, arguing that it disregards recent rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The group, which seeks independence for Western Sahara, said it intends to pursue all available legal and diplomatic avenues to defend what it describes as the Sahrawi people’s sovereign rights over their land and natural resources.

The new agreement is intended to replace a 2018 EU-Morocco trade deal that was annulled by the CJEU. The Court has previously ruled that Western Sahara is a “separate and distinct territory” from Morocco, and that any agreement affecting the region must receive the consent of its people.

The Polisario Front highlighted a December 2016 CJEU ruling which established that EU trade agreements with Morocco cannot legally include Western Sahara unless the Sahrawi population consents. It also referenced more recent judgments from October 2024 that reaffirmed this legal principle and recognized the Polisario Front’s standing to represent the Sahrawi people in legal matters.

According to the group, the new agreement was “negotiated in just five days” and “rushed through using a written procedure” without prior consultation with the Sahrawi people. It accused the EU Council of attempting to bypass scrutiny by the European Parliament through provisional application of the agreement.

EU institutions and Moroccan authorities have not yet responded publicly to the Polisario Front’s criticisms.

Western Sahara remains a disputed territory, claimed by both Morocco and the Polisario Front. The United Nations considers it a non-self-governing territory and has long supported a referendum on self-determination, though efforts toward a resolution have stalled for years.

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