Sahrawi and international civil society groups condemn EU–Morocco Trade deal illegally covering Western Sahara

Brussels (Belgium) 06 October 2025 (SPS) - The Sahrawi Observatory for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (SONREP), in collaboration with several European and international civil society organisations, issued a joint communiqué Today rejecting the European Union’s newly approved trade agreement with Morocco, which explicitly includes the territory of Western Sahara.

The joint communiqué states that the decision by the Council of the European Union “disregards the binding rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), contradicts international law, and undermines the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people.” SONREP and the undersigned organisations describe the agreement as “unlawful, unethical, and unsustainable.”

Co-signed by Asociación de Amigos y Amigas de la RASD de Álava, ACAPS - Catalunia, Finnish Peace Committee, Novact, Sahrawi Association in United States (SAUSA), and Servei Civil Internacional de Catalunya, the communiqué recalls that the CJEU has ruled in 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2024 that Western Sahara is a territory separate and distinct from Morocco, and that no EU–Morocco agreement may lawfully apply to it without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Sahrawi people through their representative, the Polisario Front.

It further cites the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources, recognised in international law, which affirms that only the Sahrawi people may determine how their land and resources are used.

According to the statement, by approving the trade deal, the EU “undermines its own legal order and the authority of the CJEU, entrenches Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara, and exposes European institutions, Member States, and private companies to significant legal, political, and reputational risks.”

The signatories considered that “the agreement is unlawful”, stating that “extending trade preferences to Western Sahara without Sahrawi consent is a direct breach of international and EU law.”

They also estimated that “consent cannot be substituted. Consultations with Moroccan authorities, settlers, or non-representative actors do not fulfil the legal standard of free, prior, and informed consent,” as clearly ordered by the European Court of Justice.

The communiqué further considered that “the EU’s credibility is compromised. By ignoring its own Court’s rulings, the EU weakens its standing as a credible actor committed to the rule of law and multilateralism.”

In its list of demands, the joint communiqué calls on the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and Member States to: “Suspend implementation of the newly approved EU–Morocco trade agreement in its application to Western Sahara; Publicly commit to full compliance with all CJEU rulings; Guarantee that any future agreements explicitly exclude Western Sahara unless and until the Sahrawi people — through their legitimate representative, the Polisario Front — provide free, prior, and informed consent; and Recommit to the UN-led peace process and the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.”

Alongside these demands, the communiqué includes a call to action inviting “civil society organisations, trade unions, research institutes, solidarity movements, and environmental and human rights groups to endorse this declaration.”

By adding their signatures, the document says, organisations “join a collective effort to defend the sovereignty and rights of the Sahrawi people, uphold the authority of international and European law, prevent the unlawful exploitation of natural resources under occupation, and hold European institutions and companies accountable.”

The statement concludes with a clear message of principle that reads as follows: “Together, we can send a clear message: no trade agreement can override the rights of a people to self-determination and sovereignty over their land and resources.”

Background

The statement follows the Council of the European Union’s approval of a trade agreement with Morocco that explicitly applies to Western Sahara, a non-self-governing territory that has been partly under Moroccan illegal occupation since 1975.

The CJEU rulings cited in the communiqué reaffirm that the EU and Morocco have no legal basis to extend trade preferences to Western Sahara without the consent of its people, represented by their liberation movement, Polisario Front, recognized by the Court as the legitimate representative that should be consulted. (SPS)

090/500/60 (SPS)