Prominent Portuguese Figures Call on their Government, EU to Support Morocco’s Territorial Integrity

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Prominent Portuguese figures have called on their government and the European Union (EU) to support the territorial integrity of Morocco.

In a letter addressed to Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, in his capacity as President of the Council of the EU, and published on Saturday by the “Diario de Noticias” newspaper, senior figures, including former ministers, deputies, and diplomats, have called for supporting the Kingdom’s territorial integrity to prevent the destabilization of the Maghreb led by the Polisario.

These personalities, including former FM and Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas, members of the Democratic Socialist Party (PSD) and the Socialist Party (PS), stressed the need for Europe to see a stable and prosperous Maghreb.

“We think you will agree that a stable and prosperous Maghreb is both an imperative and an objective that deserves the full attention of Portugal and Europe,” reads the letter.

The signatories of the letter also expressed concern over the harmful consequences of an indefinitely prolonged status quo and of a political stalemate in the settlement of the regional conflict over the Sahara.

“This situation has recently worsened with the acts of destabilization carried out by the polisario group in a highly strategic area, the stability of which is closely linked to that of the African continent, the Sahel region, and even the Mediterranean basin,” they have warned.

The influential figures also recalled that the United States of America and several countries have recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over its Saharan provinces. They highlight in this context the opening, by several states, of consulates in the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla.

Stressing that “Morocco is a friendly country, with which we share a common maritime border as well as political and economic interests,” the signatories of this letter noted that Portugal should follow this dynamic and, given its presidency of the Council of the European Union, bring Europe to adopt much more constructive positions.

The list of signatories includes José Luis Arnaut, former Presidency Minister, Antonio Figueiredo Lopes, former Minister of National Defense and Interior, Paulo Neves, PSD deputy for the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Jorge Lacão, PS deputy and vice president of the Assembly of the Republic in the 2015-2019 legislature, and Luís Leite Ramos, PSD deputy and current President of the Portugal-Morocco Parliamentary Friendship Group, among others.