The European Union Approach Towards Western Sahara (M. Balboni, G. Laschi)

In this context, the new Agreement on reciprocal liberalization measures on agricultural and fisheries products came into force in 2012, and the Fisheries Partnership Agreement, published in 2013, was established. They reiterate and update the previous agreements. Neither of them expressly excludes the territory of Western Sahara from the scope of application, unlike similar agreements negotiated with other countries, such as the free trade pact between Morocco and the United States of America. The non-exclusion of the territory of Western Sahara raises a number of concerns as to the conformity of these agreements with international law, not only as regards the principle of self-determination of peoples, but also the principle of sovereignty over natural resources, the prohibition on the exploitation of resources of a territory under occupation, the obligation not to recognize situations that have arisen illegally, and the prohibition on negotiating an agreement with an occupying country once the decolonization process has begun.