European Parliament updates air agreement with Morocco, excluding Western Sahara

The European Parliament has endorsed a revised air services agreement between the European Union (EU) and Morocco, with a critical exclusion: the Western Sahara territory is no longer included in the protocol’s scope. This decision aligns with the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) rulings, which recognize the territory as separate and distinct from Morocco’s sovereign borders.

Adopted on July 8, the updated protocol extends the existing agreement to Croatia, an EU member since July 1, 2013, without altering its core terms. By omitting Western Sahara, the EU has made it clear that it neither recognizes Moroccan authority nor sovereignty over the region, including its airspace. The Sahrawi Working Group on Natural Resources and Legal Matters hailed the vote as a significant legal and political triumph, emphasizing that the exclusion reinforces the territory’s distinct status.

The group’s president, Ambassador Oubi Bouchraya Bachir, stated, “By confining the agreement strictly to Morocco’s internationally recognized borders, the European Parliament has reaffirmed Western Sahara’s separation as a territory where Rabat holds no administrative or sovereign mandate.” The working group, dedicated to safeguarding national heritage and legal concerns, described the legislative move as a decisive step in legally distinguishing Western Sahara from Morocco.

The Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW), an international monitoring body, also welcomed the European Parliament’s decision. While the protocol is a technical update to accommodate Croatia’s EU membership, WSRW noted it “does not expand the territorial scope of the aviation accord.” The observatory reiterated the ECJ’s 2018 conclusion that EU-Morocco agreements cannot extend to Western Sahara, a stance the European Commission has consistently upheld. The Commission has advised EU carriers that the air agreement “does not apply to flights connecting EU member states with Western Sahara.”