Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 December 2025
160. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the engagement her Department has had with the Polisario Front regarding the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68876/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 4 October 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) upheld the ruling of the General Court of 29 September 2021 annulling the Council Decision on the conclusion of the 2018 Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco. This decision required a negotiation of a new agreement between the EU and Morocco. The Court set a deadline of 4 October 2025, in that it maintained the effects of the existing Council Decision until that date.
The EU and Morocco signed the amended EU-Morocco Agreement on 3 October and its provisional application began.
The process to conclude the Council Decision concerning the opening of negotiations on the amendment of the 2018 Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco is nearing its conclusion.
Throughout the process, Ireland has made clear our view that the compatibility of the agreement with the fundamental principle in international law of the right of peoples to self-determination should be paramount in the implementation of this agreement.
Ireland’s position on Western Sahara continues to be guided by the aim of achieving a just and lasting political solution which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
Officials at HQ and in the Mission network continue to be in contact with relevant parties in support of efforts to achieve a solution to this long-standing dispute. This includes representatives of the Polisario Front, with whom my officials recently met in October and November. During both of these engagements the subject of Western Sahara was discussed.
