A negative ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement would further weaken the relationship between Rabat and Brussels and would prompt Morocco to expand its partnerships outside the EU, reported French daily newspaper Le Monde on Tuesday.
The article penned by Frédéric Bobin, entitled “Trade Agreements between Morocco and the EU Back Before the European Court,” indicated that the hearings held on Monday and Tuesday are intended to rule on the double appeal filed by the European Commission and the European Council against the judgment of the Luxembourg court (trial court) rendered on September 29, 2021.
It added that Morocco denounced the judgment, considering it ideologically motivated.
The author pointed out that the European executive was even more dismayed, as it held high hopes for its strategic partnership with Morocco, a key player in its neighborhood policy with Mediterranean Basin nations.
The article also said that the decision by the Commission and the Council–supported by France, Spain, Belgium, and Hungary–have sent their own lawyers to the hearings before the CJEU to challenge the judgment.
The EU-Morocco agreement came into effect on July 18, 2019.
The Polisario Front separatist group petitioned the court in 2021 to annul the agreement, claiming that it was the sole legitimate representative of the interests of the Saharawi people and that the outcome of the agreement had been predetermined without the participation of its representative.
The original agreement, which had expired on July 17, 2023, allowed 128 European vessels to fish in Moroccan waters for four years in exchange for a payment of 52.2 million euros by the Union.
It also permitted over 128 international marine vessels, including 93 Spanish boats, to utilize and navigate freely in national territorial waters, including those adjacent to the Moroccan Sahara.