The CJEU annuls the fisheries agreement with Morocco because the Saharawi people did not give their consent

The community court decided to keep the agreement on agricultural products in force for twelve more months due to the serious negative consequences for the Union's external action that its immediate annulment would entail.

October 4 2024 (10:31 WEST)
Updated in October 4 2024 (11:19 WEST)
Headquarters of the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg. Fishing.
Headquarters of the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg. Fishing.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) annulled this Friday the 2019 trade agreements between the EU and Morocco on fisheries and agricultural products, alleging that the people of Western Sahara did not give their consent and that they were held in violation of the principles of self-determination and the relative effect of treaties.

However, in the case of the agreement on liberalisation measures in the area of agricultural products, the Community court decided to keep it in force for twelve months, taking into account the serious negative consequences for the Union's external action that its immediate annulment would entail and for reasons of legal certainty. 

The CJEU explained that the consent of the people of Western Sahara to the application of the 2019 EU-Morocco trade agreements on fisheries and agricultural products in that non-autonomous territory is a condition of validity of the decisions by which the Council approved them on behalf of the Union.

The Court acknowledges that the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) carried out consultations prior to the adoption of those decisions, but clarifies that "these consultations were not directed at the people of Western Sahara, but at the populations currently in the territory, regardless of whether or not they belong to the people of Western Sahara."

"As a considerable part of that people is currently outside that territory, these consultations could not prove that that people had given such consent," he specifies.

 

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