Polisario presence at AU-EU meetings in Brussels raises questions

On Friday in Brussels, Polisario members participated in a high-level meeting focused on scientific, technological, and innovation policy between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU).

A delegation from the Polisario Front had previously attended the preparatory session for this event, which took place on July 18 in the Belgian capital. Among the attendees was the director of the so-called «University of Tifariti», an institution that has not been operational since November 13, 2020.

The European Union had earlier allowed Polisario representatives to attend an AU-EU ministerial meeting on June 28 in Rome, which centered on agricultural development in Africa. Just weeks before, the Front also took part in another AU-EU gathering at the Foreign Ministers' level, held on May 21 in Brussels.

These repeated participations raise questions, particularly given that the majority of EU member states back Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara. In early October, the EU also finalized an agricultural agreement with Morocco, which includes products from the Sahara.

Outside of meetings with Japan and the European Union, other African Union partners – including Russia, China, Turkey, Italy, South Korea, Indonesia, and the United States – continue to exclude the Polisario from their engagements with the pan-African organization.