By Julia Payne
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Court of Justice ruled on Friday that the European Commission had breached the right of people in Western Sahara to self-determination by concluding trade deals with Morocco.
Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain, has been the scene of Africa’s longest-running territorial dispute since colonial power Spain left in 1975 and Morocco annexed the territory.
Friday’s decision is the final ruling after several appeals by the Commission, the European Union’s executive arm. The EU signed fishing and agriculture agreements with Morocco in 2019 that also covered products from the Western Sahara.
“The consent of the people of Western Sahara to the implementation… is a condition for the validity of the decisions by which the (EU) Council approved those agreements on behalf of the European Union,” the court said.
It said a consultation process that took place had not involved “the people of Western Sahara but the inhabitants who are currently present in that territory, irrespective of whether or not they belong to the people of Western Sahara”.
The court also ruled that melons and tomatoes produced in Western Sahara must now have their origin labelled as such.
“Labelling must indicate Western Sahara alone as the country of origin of those goods, to the exclusion of any reference to Morocco, so as to avoid misleading consumers,” it said.
The Commission told reporters it was currently analysing the judgements in detail. Morocco’s foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
‘HISTORIC VICTORY’
The Western Sahara is led by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front that advocates for its own sovereignty. The Polisario declared the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976. The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991 ending a guerrilla war between Morocco and the Polisario and tried to organised a referendum.
“It is a historic victory for the Sahrawi people that confirms the wrongdoings of the EU and Morocco and confirms the permanent sovereignty of the Sahrawi people over their natural resources,” Oubi Bouchraya, the Polisario’s representative to the United Nations in Switzerland, told Reuters.
“It is the most eloquent response to the last unilateral position of France and others.”
Western powers including the United States in 2020 and most recently, France, have recognised a plan for autonomy for the people under Morocco’s sovereignty which angered Algeria.
Thousands of Sahrawi refugees have been stuck in limbo living in desert camps in Tindouf, Algeria.
Bouchraya, who was in charge of the European Court case, added the EU had two options – to withdraw or negotiate with the “internationally recognised representative of the people of Western Sahara which is the Frente Polisario.”
(Reporting by Julia Payne, Editing by Gareth Jones and Timothy Heritage)
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