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Western Sahara’s maritime space: European Parliament to examine Morocco’s expansionist laws

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Strasbourg, 15 February 2020 (SPS)- The European Parliament decided Wednesday to take up the issue of two expansionist laws adopted by the Moroccan House of Councillors, on 4 February 2020, which claim to include the waters of Western Sahara into the kingdom’s maritime space.
In the face of such a violation of the international legality, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to react quickly.
The European deputies, met in a plenary session of the European Parliament from 10 to 13 February 2020 in Strasbourg, decided to examine Morocco’s expansionist steps after the adoption by the House of Councillors of Morocco, on 4 February 2020, of two legislative texts, proposed by the Moroccan Government in July 2017 on fixing the boundaries of the territorial waters (law 37-17) and the institution of an exclusive economic zone (law 38-17), including illegally Western Sahara.
Six European deputies from the group “Renew Europe” decided to call on the European Commission to intervene, via a written question published on Wednesday, to know the measures that the High Representative of the European Union and the European External Action Service (EEAS) plan to take “in the face of the Moroccan unilateral decision to extend its exclusive economic zone.”
They underlined that “the fact that Morocco demands its sovereignty over waters of Western Sahara, that it occupies illegally, is a more flagrant violation of the international law.” (SPS)
062/SPS/APS