Brussels, June 23, 2018 (SPS) – Sahrawi minister, delegate for Europe Mohamed Sidati on Thursday reiterated the Polisario Front rejection of the European Commission’s proposal of modifying the protocols n 4 and n 1 to the EU-Morocco Association Agreement to include Western Sahara products.
"As the legitimate representative of Western Sahara people, recognized by the UN, the Polisario Front strongly rejects the proposal," he wrote in a letter to members of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee (INTA).
Explaining the reasons behind the rejection of the European Commission's proposal, Mohamed Sidati explained that the first one is that the Polisario Front never took part in the consultation process conducted by the Commission, which suggested the amendment of the EU-Morocco Association Agreement.
"The 5 February 2018 meeting between the Polisario Front and the European External Action Service (EEAS) is not part of the consultation process. This meeting was scheduled at the request of the Polisario Front and approved as such by the EEAS," he said.
The Sahrawi Minister added that the new annulment appeal lodged by the Polisario Front against the decision of the EU Council to authorize the launch of talks with Morocco to extend the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement to Western Sahara and its adjacent waters "sends a strong signal to the Commission."
The "parties" created in Morocco and consulted by the European Commission will never replace the consent of the Sahrawi people as a "third party" to EU-Morocco relations.
In its judgment of 21 December 2016, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) recalled that international law is clear on the fact that "treaties must neither harm nor benefit third parties without their consent," stressing that Western Sahara people must be regarded as a "third party." (SPS)
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