The European Parliament has endorsed a revised resolution amending the Euro-Mediterranean air services agreement between the European Union and Morocco, explicitly excluding Western Sahara from its scope in line with judgments from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The court has consistently ruled that Western Sahara is a separate and distinct territory from the Kingdom of Morocco.
On July 8, lawmakers approved the updated protocol, which extends the agreement’s application to Croatia—a European Union member since July 1, 2013—while preserving its core provisions. This decision underscores the EU’s stance that it does not recognize any Moroccan authority or sovereignty over Western Sahara, including its airspace.
The Saharawi Working Group on Natural Resources and Legal Affairs welcomed the Parliament’s decision, calling it a significant legal and political victory. In a statement, the group hailed the exclusion of Western Sahara from the updated EU-Morocco air treaty as an undeniable recognition of Sahrawi sovereignty.
According to Oubi Bouchraya Bachir, the group’s ambassador and chairperson, the Parliament’s move “strictly limits the treaty to Morocco’s internationally recognized borders,” reinforcing that Western Sahara remains a separate territory over which Rabat exercises no administrative or sovereign control. The working group emphasized that this legislative measure strengthens the legal boundary separating Western Sahara from Morocco on the international stage.
Meanwhile, the Western Sahara Resource Watch, an international monitoring body for the territory’s natural resources, praised the Parliament’s vote. The organization clarified that while the protocol is a technical update to account for Croatia’s EU accession, it does not alter the territorial scope of the aviation agreement. The Observatory reiterated the CJEU’s 2018 ruling that EU-Morocco accords cannot extend to Western Sahara, as the court concluded that the air agreement cannot be interpreted to include the territory.
The Western Sahara Resource Watch also noted that the European Commission has repeatedly confirmed this interpretation, advising EU carriers that, under EU jurisprudence, the air agreement does not apply to flights connecting EU member states with Western Sahara.
