![Spanish Representatives Oppose Morocco’s Joint Bid with Spain and Portugal Spain’ Prime Minister proposed a trio bid with Morocco and Portugal to host the 2030 World Cup; but the idea does not appear to be popular with Spanish politicians. The representatives of two Spanish political parties, the People’s Party and the Citizens-Party, have said they do not want Spain to submit a joint candidacy with Portugal and Morocco for the 2030 World Cup. In a meeting organized by the National Federation of Sports Facilities Entrepreneurs (FNEID) in Madrid, the People’s party representative, Vicente Azpitarte dismissively spoke about Spain joining a trio with Morocco and Portugal to organize the World Cup. Azpitarte specifically wondered whether Spain would get any advantages from teaming up with the two countries, t Spanish news outlet Iusport reported on Wednesday. The Citizens-Party representative, Roberto Nunez, agreed with Azpitarte. “We do not intend to organize a World Cup with other countries. Spain has more than enough capacity [to organize the World Cup], it is a country that has already organized a World Cup, and we do not understand that proposal,” Nunez said. The adviser of United Podemos, Oscar Penas, stated that he does not clearly see why “the priority is to organize a World Cup or an Olympiad at this time.” Morocco and Spain cooperate on a number of issues, ranging from security and migration to trade and education. On November 18, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, arrived in Morocco for a first visit since his election to premiership. During his visit, Sanchez proposed to both Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani and King Mohammed VI a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup. “We are launching a joint message, which is that this will be a bid between two continents. The King of Morocco is receptive and we’re going to work on it with Portugal. We are very excited about it,” Sanchez said.](https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ABL-Launches-in-Casablanca-Becoming-Africa’s-First-Aircraft-Leaser-180x135.jpeg "ABL Launches in Casablanca, Becoming Africa’s First Aircraft Leaser")
Rabat - On Friday, the High Court in Port Elizabeth, South Africa returned a verdict in favor of the separatist group Polisario, concerning a Moroccan phosphate shipment detained on May 1, 2017, after a Polisario complaint that the cargo was transported illegally from Western Sahara.
Rabat – On Friday, the High Court in Port Elizabeth, South Africa returned a verdict in favor of the separatist group Polisario, concerning a Moroccan phosphate shipment detained on May 1, 2017, after a Polisario complaint that the cargo was transported illegally from Western Sahara.
The judgment, however, was announced in the absence of the Moroccan party involved.
The court decided that the Polisario Front’s Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is the “owner of all the phosphate cargo currently loaded on the NM Cherry Blossom,” noting that “phosphate ownership has never been legally held by the Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) and/or Phosphates de Boucraa SA.”
According to the court, the institutions are not authorized to sell phosphate to Ballance Agri-Nutrients Limited of New Zealand.
Additional orders issued by the court denied OCP the power to auction cargo and the right to recover the capital costs of the shipment.
Biased Against Morocco?
OCP was certain that the South African court was planning to politicize the case, adding that the decision does not bring any new developments, according to Le360.
OCP does not seem to be outraged over the decision taken by the court. A source within the OCP told Le360 that the decision is positive in many ways. Referring to Polisario, the source said that “the opposing side attempted to sell the 55,0000 tons of phosphate using all possible means and made contacts with all potential actors.” However, according to OCP, “We managed to block these attempts every time,” they were trying to do so. Therefore, “the decision is favorable to us insofar as it stipulates a judicial sale made at the request of the shipowner.”
According to an unidentified source, “Maintaining the amount seized of phosphate has become a source of embarrassment for South Africa, and the decision was taken by default.”
Decision Contradicts UN’s Process
In July 2017, OCP Group refused to participate in South Africa trial “that undermines UN resolution process and international law.”
“This judicial overreach threatens the freedom and security of international trade, while it contradicts core legal concepts and undermines the United Nations (UN) resolution process. Thus, participating in any trial before this forum would give further credit to a process without legal legitimacy,” said OCP group.
The court’s decision contradicts basic principles of international law. The decision also constitutes a “serious and dangerous interference “ that might undermine the negotiation process which has been carried out under the auspices of the United Nations.
