Allegiance Blindness, Extra-Territorial Exuberance, and Security Ambivalence: A Critical Analysis of the Ruling of the European Court of Justice on Products Originating From Western Sahara

Background: The European Court of Justice recently annulled Council Decision (EU) No. 2019/217, which had authorised the conclusion of an agreement—in the form of an exchange of letters—between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco. This agreement initially extended coverage of preferential trade treatment between the two parties to products originating in Western Sahara and subject to the control of Moroccan customs authorities. The ECJ’s ruling has removed those trade preferences and imposed a de facto EU embargo on the region. This article critically discusses the ECJ’s ruling on both legal and policy grounds. From a legal standpoint, the ECJ’s decision foregoes consideration of notions of sovereignty applicable to Western Sahara in virtue of Islamic law, which would have led to recognition of its enduring ‘allegiance’ to Morocco. Moreover, the same decision amounts to an instance of extra-territorial application of EU law and infringes the principle of indivisibility of agreements. From a policy standpoint, by acknowledging standing in virtue of mere non-State armed military presence, the ECJ’s ruling has offered to terrorist groups and rebel militias— in a context of profound instability in the Sahel region—a blackmail strategy vis-à-vis regional governments. Methods: This critical review uses the descriptive approach to outline, analyse, interpret, and criticise the 2021 ECJ ruling, which denies preferential trade treatment to products from the Western Sahara region, even when under the control of Moroccan customs authorities, while Moroccan products continue to receive such treatment. Results and Conclusions: The European Court of Justice partially used the concepts of international law as it paid no regard to the concept of sovereignty in the Islamic world, which is connected to tribe, allegiance and loyalty. Further, extending the application of the European Law to a third state, which has several agreements with the European Union, must be devoid of any political dimension affected by regional conflicts and international balances. The enforcement of the referred ruling is tantamount to the economic embargo on the Western Sahara Region, which will inevitably affect the security situation thereof and thus bring it closer to the influence of terrorist groups.