The Polisario Front has welcomed the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) recent ruling, which rejected appeals by the European Council and European Commission. The Front considers these rulings a «significant victory for the Saharawi people, unprecedented in the history of decolonization».
The Polisario views these rulings as a message to states recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara or supporting the 2007 Moroccan autonomy initiative. They are seen as a «response to the actions of certain European states, particularly France and Spain, who believed they could unilaterally alter the territory's international status».
While the Polisario did not mention other European countries supporting the Moroccan autonomy plan, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Denmark, the ECJ ruling come at a challenging time for the Front.
On the international stage, the separatist movement is losing ground, particularly in Africa. The Front's exclusion from recent summits highlights this decline, without eliciting any reaction from African states, including those still recognizing the «SADR».
Internally, these rulings may enable the Polisario leadership to silence critical voices within the Tindouf camps, where dissatisfaction is growing.