To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the EU Commission on the proposed amendment to the EU-Morocco Association Agreement; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the consent of the indigenous people of Western Sahara to that amendment has been given.
Answered on
19 June 2018
We and other EU member states have had regular discussions with the EU Commission on the proposed amendment to the EU-Morocco Association Agreement. The European Commission is seeking to ensure that the amendment is fully consistent with the requirements of the European Court of Justice ruling of December 2016 on the applicability of the EU/Morocco Association Agreement to Western Sahara. The Commission has consulted a wide spectrum of Western Saharan representatives, stake-holders, civil society, and other organisations. The EU Commission's report of its consultations is available online, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=SWD:2018:346:FIN&from=FR. We are currently considering the report.