The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Dec. 21 that the association and liberalization agreements between Morocco and the European Union do not apply to the territory of Western Sahara. Morocco has privileged access to the European market, as it exports agricultural and fishery products to the EU, including products from Western Sahara. The ECJ’s judgment is not only about trade, but has far-reaching political consequences.

“The court considers Western Sahara to be a third party rather than a part of Morocco, which means that Western Sahara cannot be included in agreements between Morocco and the EU without the explicit consent of the Sahrawi population,” said a source close to the ECJ. It is the first time that the European court has taken a stance on Morocco’s sovereignty claim over Western Sahara. Mhamed Khaddad, a senior official from the Polisario Front, which is Western Sahara’s national liberation movement, told Al-Monitor that he was “very satisfied by the clarity of the judgment, which highlights the Sahrawis’ right to self-determination.”

Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara in 1976 despite the International Court of Justice’s opinion that evidence was insufficient to prove Moroccan sovereignty claims over this territory. After 15 years of armed conflict, Morocco and the Polisario Front reached a cease-fire deal in 1991 on the grounds that Morocco would organize a referendum of self-determination in Western Sahara. Rabat has failed to do so ever since. Today, Morocco exploits the territory’s resources, mainly phosphates, agricultural and fishery products.

The majority of Moroccan exports, including products from Western Sahara, go to the EU. The EU and Morocco signed an association agreement in 2000 and further deepened their trade relations with the 2012 liberalization agreement. The same year, the Polisario Front asked the ECJ to cancel the deal because the Sahrawi population was not consulted.