EU-Morocco trade deals annulled

An EU court has cancelled two trade deals with Morocco after a case brought by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the disputed territory


Brahim Ghali: Sahrawi President and leader of Polisario Front


Mediterranean
SPAIN
Rabat
Casablanca
MOROCCO
Marrakesh
Agadir
Madeira (PORTUGAL)
Canary Islands (SPAIN)
Occupied by Morocco (80%)
Laayoune
Bojador
WESTERN SAHARA
Dakhla
Awsard
Area controlled by Polisario (20%)
ATLANTIC OCEAN
MAURITANIA
ALGERIA
Tindouf
MALI
200km 125 miles

180,000-200,000 Sahrawi refugees

1980s: Morocco builds 2,700km-long berm – sand wall, fortified with barbed wire, trenches and minefields 


1975: Morocco claims former Spanish colony

1976: Algeria-backed Polisario Front proclaims Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Morocco wages 15-year war with Polisario

1991: UN brokers ceasefire, but fails to find lasting settlement

2019: EU-Morocco trade deals covering farm products and fish

Nov 2020: Fighting resumes between Polisario Front and Morocco

Dec: U.S. President Donald Trump recognises Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara

Sep 29, 2021: EU court annuls trade agreements


Sources: AFP, European Council on Foreign Relations 
Picture: Getty Images 
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