Occupied El-Aaiun, 04 October 2025 (SPS) - The Association for the Monitoring of Natural Resources and the Protection of the Environment in Western Sahara (AREN) has issued a statement condemning the European Commission’s willingness to renew a Trade Agreement including Natural Resources from Western Sahara.
This is the full text of the statement:
“Statement Condemning the Commission’s Willingness to Renew a Trade Agreement Including Natural Resources from Western Sahara
In a dangerous move that reflects a blatant disregard for international law and a clear violation of the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Commission is preparing to renew its association agreement with the occupying state of Morocco. This agreement includes natural resources from Western Sahara, openly defying the Court’s ruling issued on October 4, 2024, which definitively and irrevocably annulled the agreement.
The Association for the Monitoring of Natural Resources and the Protection of the Environment in Western Sahara (AREN), which follows these developments in Europe with deep concern, expresses its strongest condemnation and rejection of this serious deviation that undermines the principles of justice and human rights. This constitutes a legal, political, and ethical crime against the Sahrawi people.
This unacceptable European maneuver is part of a clear pattern of collusion with the Moroccan occupation and reflects a shameful submission to French and Spanish pressures, making European Union institutions direct partners in the plundering of the wealth of a defenseless people and in the entrenchment of an occupation not recognized by the international community.
We remind that Western Sahara is a non-self-governing territory under international law, and that Morocco has no sovereignty over it. Therefore, we affirm that any agreement including this territory, without the explicit consent of its sole legitimate representative, the Polisario Front, is null and without legal or ethical value, as clearly stated by the Court of Justice of the European Union in multiple previous rulings.
What the European Commission is now attempting—by manipulating the true country of origin and replacing it with false Moroccan administrative labels such as:
· "El Aaiún - Saquiat el-Hamra"
· "Dakhla - Río de Oro"
—constitutes a blatant falsification of geographic and legal reality, a manipulation of the destiny of a people under occupation, and a continuation of the commercialization of looted products from a territory that is not part of the Kingdom of Morocco, in clear violation of international humanitarian law and global trade norms.
This outrageous step not only reveals a deliberate intention to circumvent European court rulings, but also confirms that the European Union has become an unreliable party in a long-standing conflict, and a source of growing distrust toward its institutions. Once again, it places the EU in the defendant’s seat before the Court of Justice of the EU and exposes it to new legal challenges and the loss of international credibility.
Therefore, we, the Association for the Monitoring of Natural Resources and the Protection of the Environment in Western Sahara (AREN), declare the following:
1. Our absolute rejection of any renewal of agreements that include the natural resources of Western Sahara without the consent of the Sahrawi people through their sole legitimate representative, the Polisario Front.
2. Our strong condemnation of the European Union’s collusion and its attempts to falsify the true origin of products.
3. Our urgent call to the European Parliament and civil society organizations to act immediately and stop this grave deviation.
4. Our reaffirmation that any similar agreement in the future will be legally challenged before European and international courts.
5. We hold the European Union politically and ethically responsible for the legal consequences resulting from these illegitimate agreements.
The natural resources of Western Sahara are not for sale
There will be no peace without respect for the will of the Sahrawi people
Association for the Monitoring of Natural Resources and the Protection of the Environment in Western Sahara (AREN)”
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