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Morocco and the European Union have initiated negotiations since May to conclude a trade agreement that would go hand in hand with the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) verdict pronounced on the 21st of December 2016. Reportedly, talks, so far, are on the right track despite the rejection of some external groups.
In fact, the Polisario Front and the Greens-European Free Alliance (Green-EFA), a political group in the European Parliament containing green, regionalist and left-wing nationalist political parties, launched a campaign to convince the European Commission of putting an end to negotiations with Morocco.
They both believe that the holding of these negotiations tends to «normalize the occupation of Western Sahara». The Front sent a female delegation to Brussels which met on Tuesday with senior officials from the European Commission, Europa Press reported.
An EU-Polisario trade agreement ?
At the EU headquarters, they essentially claimed that there should be a trade agreement between the European Union and the separatist movement, the same source added. A request that shouldn’t be surprising, knowing that it fits perfectly the threats made by the Polisario lawyer, Gilles Devers, against European companies settled in the Sahara.
Following the CJEU’s verdict (21st of December 2016), Devers declared to a Spanish media platform that it would file a complaint against companies that are not respecting the Court of Justice of the European Union’s ruling. The lawyer explained that these companies have no choice but to comply with the Polisario’s dictates and to «negotiate with us or leave the Sahara».
In Brussels, the Polisario delegation is unlikely to convince the European Union. This is confirmed through a pessimistic statement given by a member of the group to the Europa Press agency. Following the meetings with officials from the European Commission, the member told the same source that : «in the short term, no one will change their point of view».
