EU says accords with Morocco in line with international law

RABAT — The European Union's senior diplomat said on Friday the union disagrees with a court ruling invalidating its farm trade deal with Morocco and the accords with Rabat do not violate international law.

The EU has appealed a European Court decision announced on December 10 to cancel the trade deal with Morocco in response to a suit filed by the Polisario Front, which wants independence for the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.

The complaint, brought to the court in 2012, involves trade of agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fisheries. The court said the deal should exclude the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

European Union Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini made an unplanned visit to Rabat to calm tensions after Morocco said it had suspended contact with European Union institutions to protest against the court decision.

"The [European] Council disagrees with the ruling of December 10 ... that is why an appeal has been lodged at the European Court," Mogherini told reporters in a joint news conference with the Moroccan foreign minister.

"The EU remains convinced that their accords with Morocco do not violate international laws," she added.

Mogherini said trade will not be affected by the ruling. An EU source had said that would remain the case while the ruling is being appealed.

Morocco has controlled most of Western Sahara since 1975 and claims sovereignty over the sparsely populated stretch of desert to its south, which has offshore fishing, phosphate reserves and oilfield potential.

Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara prompted a rebellion by the Polisario Front backed by Morocco's neighbour Algeria. The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991, but talks have since failed to find a lasting settlement in Africa's longest-running territorial dispute.