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In the quiet tug-of-war between European institutions, the European Commission has made a decisive move: it chose diplomacy over legal bias.
By signing an amendment to the agricultural agreement with Morocco on October 3-explicitly including products from the Sahara- the EU sent a clear message: the strategic partnership with Rabat is not up for negotiation.
This decision comes just days before the deadline set by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), whose rulings in October 2024 challenged the legality of including the Sahara in EU-Morocco trade deals.
Behind this legal challenge lies a well-organized pro-Polisario lobby, now entrenched in the European Parliament’s INTA committee. Yet, despite mounting pressure, EU member states opted for pragmatism.
The swift opening of negotiations in September and the rapid signing of the amendment reflect a strong political will: Europe does not want a diplomatic rift with one of its key southern partners.
The European Commission’s renewal of the trade deal with Morocco is a gesture that reflects a tacit endorsement of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, already supported by the US, France, and a growing number of global powers.
Algeria, which sought to undermine Morocco by encouraging the Polisario to use a European law encroaching on diplomacy, now finds itself diplomatically cornered. The new agreement, the economic momentum in the Sahara, and the unified stance of EU member states all point to the fact that Europe is clearly aligning itself with Rabat, not with legal ambiguity.
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