EU Court Decision: Europe Needs to Engage in ‘Real’ Review – Expert –

Europe should engage in a “real” review and revise its approach to the Moroccan Sahara, especially following the decision of the European Union court on agriculture and fisheries agreements with the Kingdom, said Friday the political scientist Mustapha Tossa. The judgment of the European Court of Justice on the Moroccan Sahara “sheds light on the contradictions between the positioning of States, the most minimalist of which looks favorably on the autonomy proposed by Morocco as a way out of the crisis, and the European Court of Justice, which has become a playground for manipulation and instrumentalization of forces with an asserted hidden agenda,” said the expert in an analysis under the title “Europe at the crossroads of the Moroccan path”, published on the website Atlasinfo. “For the European Union as for the Kingdom of Morocco, the moment of truth has come to adopt clear positions and get out of the dark of certain approaches,” said Tossa. According to him, the question that is currently being asked behind the scenes of the links between Morocco and the EU is: “this relationship is vital and strategic for both partners and at this stage should not we ensure to lock all doors that could pollute and slow it down? Or it is not so important and this gives an encouraging signal to all the subversive forces that dream to the point of obsession to sabotage it”. This situation, he added, puts in “muffled contradiction” the position of the States and the behavior of certain institutions like the European Court of Justice “permeable to the struggles of influence to the troubled processes”. For Morocco, the expert went on, this situation where Europe “blows hot and tolerates cold” becomes increasingly untenable, noting that “European countries whose strategic interests are closely intertwined with those of Morocco are urged to clarify their approaches and their agendas”. For Tossa, the “fantasies of a separatist group and the pathological obsessions of their Algerian sponsor should not take hostage the precious and indispensable relationship between Morocco and the European Union”. And to get out of this impasse that paralyzes large-scale joint projects and anesthetizes the best wills, he stressed, “Europe should engage in a real review and revise its approach,” adding that the time has come to officially recognize the sovereignty of Morocco over its Sahara.