Burita says a ‘regional court’ like the CJEU cannot dictate what happens in the ‘Moroccan Sahara’

2024-10-08 16:14:00

MADRID 8 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Moroccan Foreign Minister Naser Burita insisted that the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) annulling the fishing and trade agreements in no way concerns Morocco and questioned the justification given to said court, since it believes that it is not a “regional court” that rules on a territory, Western Sahara, which Rabat considers under its sovereignty.

“It’s a dash of a sword in the water”, concluded the head of Moroccan diplomacy, in a press conference after receiving the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, in Rabat, and in which he recalled that in his first reaction the government of Morocco declared that it was not part of the legal dispute.

The CJEU in its ruling on Friday underlined that the trade and fishing agreements are illegal because they do not have the explicit support of the Sahrawi population, granting the Polisario Front the status of legitimate representative in this sector. However, Burita stressed that there is no discussion of sovereignty over the “Moroccan Sahara”.

“The Sahara issue is discussed at the United Nations Security Council, (…) and not in any other space”, said the minister in statements reported by ‘Le 360’. Likewise, he underlined that the international dynamic is “clear” in favor of Morocco’s sovereignty over the former Spanish colony or the autonomy plan and recalled the support of “important countries” within the EU such as Spain or France.

Regarding the future of trade relations, Burita put the ball in the EU’s court and said that both the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, and the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, have publicly supported the maintenance of alliances. He hopes that the governments that have taken a position on this matter will help maintain this cooperation.