Morocco
Opposition referred to the inclusion of Western Sahara, which they say renders the deal illegal under EU law.
WSCUK argues that the UK was unlawfully allowing products, originating from or processed in Western Sahara, to be imported into the UK under a trade agreement with Morocco.
"Seeking to circumvent the ECJ’s ruling, directly challenges the credibility of the EU, and significantly damages the potential for progress through the UN-led negotiation process", Saharawi groups qualify the EU’s talks with Morocco regarding Western Sahara trade, in their letter to the EU’s Foreign Affairs Chief.
Japan intends to conclude new bilateral investment treaties with 13 countries, including Algeria and Morocco.
Several Nigerian lobby groups, including an organization of retired ambassadors, are putting pressure on the Nigerian government to reject the application because of the decades-old dispute over Western Sahara and Morocco’s geographical distance.
Argentina was the only signatory country that hadn’t yet ratified the free trade agreement, which can now go into effect.
The treaty is an important attempt by two developing countries to move toward a new generation of BITs fully aligned with the evolution of international law.
While the debate on the treaty regulating business impact on human rights is likely to continue for a while longer, some recent developments in international investment law seem to be moving forward on international human rights law obligations for businesses
Morocco and Nigeria signed a new investment treaty, which is a good illustration of the new “generation” of investment protection.
A note sent from French government to the French parliamentarians in Brussels casts doubts on whether France has studied the judgment at all.
The ECJ has ruled that EU trade agreements can only apply to Western Sahara if the legitimate representatives of its people agree to it. In practice, the EU’s 2017 list of approved exporters from Morocco still includes entities based in Western Sahara.
The Spanish government in a statement confirmed the EU court’s judgement that Western Sahara goods are not covered by the EU-Morocco trade deal.
Members of the European Parliament have urged the European commission to comply with the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union which excluded Western Sahara territories of the EU-Morocco Association Agreement.
The European Union promised to maintain a farm deal with Morocco, seeking to reassure Rabat that the accord was not endangered by an EU court ruling that the country’s trade accords do not apply to the disputed Western Sahara region.
Morocco’s government warned the European Union that its failure to fully implement a joint agriculture deal would have severe consequences
The Washington Times highlighted the considerable achievement that the Frente Polisario gained in the international sphere in its struggle for the self-determination of the Sahrawi people.
See statement and press conference held in Brussels.
The highest Court of the European Union this morning found that EU’s trade agreement with Morocco cannot be implemented in Western Sahara.
From this winter on, Swiss supermarkets will probably, for the first time, no longer sell tomatoes from occupied Western Sahara.