Considerations on COM(2017)191 - Authorisation of the opening of negotiations on the adaptation of protocols to the Agreement with Morocco

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dossier COM(2017)191 - Authorisation of the opening of negotiations on the adaptation of protocols to the Agreement with Morocco.
document COM(2017)191 EN
date March 28, 2019
 
1. The Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part, hereafter referred to as the 'Association Agreement', entered into force on 1 March 2000.

1. In its judgment in Case C-104/16 P, the Court of Justice clarified that the Association Agreement only covers the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco but does not cover Western Sahara, a non-self-governing territory. However, since its entry into force, products coming from Western Sahara and certified as having Moroccan origin have been imported into the Union under the tariff preferences provided for in the relevant provisions of the Association Agreement.

2. It is important that the flows of trade which have developed over the years are not disrupted, while ensuring that there are appropriate guarantees for the protection of human rights and the sustainable development of the territories concerned.

3. The European Union supports the efforts of the United Nations to find a mutually acceptable political solution which would provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations.

4. It is therefore appropriate to negotiate a modification of the relevant protocols to the Association Agreement.