{"id":6116,"date":"2025-10-05T23:26:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T23:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/?p=6116"},"modified":"2025-10-05T23:26:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T23:26:44","slug":"adala-uk-sends-letter-to-the-european-commission-urging-respect-for-eu-court-rulings-on-western-sahara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/?p=6116","title":{"rendered":"Adala UK Sends Letter to the European Commission Urging Respect for EU Court Rulings on Western Sahara"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Adala UK has expressed its strong opposition<\/strong> to the recent decision by the European Union to sign and provisionally apply a new agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco, arguing that it represents a clear breach of the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)<\/strong> and a setback for the EU\u2019s commitment to the rule of law and human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a formal letter<\/a> sent to the\u00a0European Commission<\/strong>, Adala UK criticised\u00a0Council Decision (EU) 2025\/2022 of 2 October 2025<\/strong>, which authorises the signing and provisional application of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Morocco amending Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organisation stressed that this decision contradicts the CJEU\u2019s consistent jurisprudence<\/strong>, particularly the judgments of 21 December 2016 (Case C-104\/16 P)<\/strong> and 4 October 2024 (Joined Cases C-779\/21 P and C-799\/21 P)<\/strong>. In those rulings, the Court confirmed that Western Sahara is a territory distinct and separate from the Kingdom of Morocco<\/strong>, and that no EU\u2013Morocco agreement may lawfully apply to Western Sahara or its adjacent waters without the consent of the Sahrawi people<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adala UK warned that the new agreement, by extending preferential trade and cooperation measures to products originating from Western Sahara under Moroccan administration, undermines the principle of self-determination<\/strong>, the binding authority of the CJEU\u2019s rulings<\/strong>, and the credibility of the European Union\u2019s external action<\/strong> as guided by respect for international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organisation called on the European Commission to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Suspend the provisional application<\/strong>\u00a0of the agreement until full legal compliance with CJEU rulings is ensured;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Engage with the legitimate representatives of the Sahrawi people<\/strong>, namely the Frente Polisario, recognised by the United Nations;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Guarantee transparency and accountability<\/strong>\u00a0in all trade and cooperation activities affecting Western Sahara; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Direct EU development assistance<\/strong>\u00a0to humanitarian and educational projects benefiting Sahrawi refugees, under UN supervision.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cRespect for the rule of law and the authority of the EU Court must remain non-negotiable,\u201d Adala UK stated. \u201cBy disregarding the Court\u2019s clear judgments, the European Union risks undermining both its legal integrity and its moral standing as a global advocate of human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Adala UK reaffirmed its unwavering support for a peaceful, just, and lawful resolution<\/strong> to the conflict in Western Sahara, based on the free and genuine exercise of the Sahrawi people\u2019s right to self-determination<\/strong>, in line with UN principles and international law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Adala UK has expressed its strong opposition to the recent decision by the European Union to sign and provisionally apply a new agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco, arguing that it represents a clear breach of the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and a setback for the EU\u2019s commitment to the rule of law and human rights. In a formal letter sent to the\u00a0European Commission, Adala UK criticised\u00a0Council Decision (EU) 2025\/2022 of 2 October 2025, which authorises the signing and provisional application of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and Morocco amending Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement. The organisation stressed that this decision contradicts the CJEU\u2019s consistent jurisprudence, particularly the judgments of 21 December 2016 (Case C-104\/16 P) and 4 October 2024 (Joined Cases C-779\/21 P and C-799\/21 P). In those rulings, the Court confirmed that Western Sahara is a territory distinct and separate from the Kingdom of Morocco, and that no EU\u2013Morocco agreement may lawfully apply to Western Sahara or its adjacent waters without the consent of the Sahrawi people. Adala UK warned that the new agreement, by extending preferential trade and cooperation measures to products originating from Western Sahara under Moroccan administration, undermines the principle of self-determination, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6120,"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116\/revisions\/6120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adalauk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}