Algeria’s regime has been overwhelmed by the strong support from EU countries for Morocco, especially in light of the recent hostile ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Since Friday last week, an outpouring of supportive messages from European countries has been ongoing, stressing the strategic importance of cooperation between the European Union and Morocco at all levels– including agriculture and fisheries.
The messages of support from several EU countries came after ECJ accused the European Commission of violating “the right of self-determination of Western Sahara’s population” by concluding trade agreements with Morocco that included products from the disputed region.
“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.
The EU responded to the ECJ claims, reaffirming its determination to continue deepening bilateral and cooperation ties with Morocco.
Countries like Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Croatia, France, among many others backed the EU-Morocco agreements, and their determination to continue supporting bilateral and multilateral ties with Rabat.
The support has caused frustration among Algerian officials, particularly the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmed Attaf.
Reaffirming Algeria’s rejection of its responsibility to the dispute, the Algerian foreign minister claimed this week that a solution to the dispute could only be achieved through the progress of “direct negotiations between the two parties to the conflict.”
Algeria’s regime hosts, finances, and arms the separatists Polisario Front, in addition to supporting their independence claims to undermine Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Despite its direct involvement in the dispute, the Algerian regime continues to shirk its responsibility and refuses to take part in the UN-led political process as a main party to the dispute.
In response to the broad EU support for Morocco, Attaf said: “What is most surprising is to hear, while we follow the reactions to the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union, member states of that same institution trying to convince us that trade agreements take precedence over everything when it comes to Western Sahara.”
He claimed that all these “fabrications are justified by strategic relations with the Kingdom of Morocco.”
Morocco responded to the ECJ ruling, reaffirming that Rabat will not accept any deal disregarding its territorial integrity and national unity.
“The content of this decision contains obvious legal errors and suspicious factual mistakes,” the Moroccan Foreign Ministry commented in response to the ruling, arguing that this indicates a complete misunderstanding of the realities of the case, “if not a blatant political bias.”
