Analyst: European Commission Aviation Announcement Will Unlikely Affect EU-Morocco Ties

Morocco World

28-01-2025

Rabat – Countries from across Europe continue to call on the European Union (EU) to strengthen bilateral ties with Morocco at a time marked by hostile maneuvers and anti-Moroccan rhetoric at the European Parliament and other bodies of the Brussels-based blocs.
Attempts aimed at Morocco's territorial integrity include biased positions from some MEPs as well as other maneuvers challenging the country's interests -- including its trade ties with the EU and the country's tourism attractiveness, among others.
The latest maneuvers have been targeting Morocco's momentum -- including some companies' decisions to launch direct air routes between Morocco's southern provinces and European destinations.
One of the key announcements includes Ryanair's decision to launch new air routes between Madrid and Dakhla. This made Ryanair one of the first partners of Morocco's tourism office to launch a direct international route to Dakhla.
Other partners include Binter Canarias and Transavia. Similar announcements are often met with frustration and nerve-racking from pro-Polisario activists among MEPs, as well as the separatist group's traditional supporters -- particularly the Algerian regime.
In November last year, the European Commission received a question from MEP Lyn Boylan, a leftist politician who showed a strong stance against Ryanair's decision. The MEP asked the commission to confirm whether Ryanair "has been advised of the specific obligations which it must comply with as a result of operating within an occupied territory."
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, responded to the claims on January 20 by recalling that the "Euro-Mediterranean aviation agreement" between Morocco and the EU "does not apply to routes from the territory of an EU member state to the territory of Western Sahara."
He said that the commission informed EU carriers of the news on December 2 last year," recalling the European Court of Justice's hostile ruling against Morocco.
In October last year, the European Court confirmed its hostility by accusing the European Commission of "violating the right of self-determination of Western Sahara's population." Morocco responded to the verdict, stressing that Rabat does not consider the ECJ's ruling as relevant or important for its agricultural or fisheries agreements with the EU.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement: 'Morocco is not a party to this case, which involves the European Union on one side and the 'Polisario' supported by Algeria on the other. Morocco did not participate in any phase of this procedure and, therefore, does not consider itself concerned by the decision.'
Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita echoed the same remarks and has called on the EU to take action and clarify how it intends to preserve its partnership agreements with Morocco.
Given Morocco's widely recognized contribution to stability and peace in Europe, Bourita argued, the country needs actions and a meaningful approach from the EU to tackle such attempts to undermine its strategic interests and territorial integrity.
Amid these developments, the Algerian regime has been eager to celebrate some of the latest maneuvers from MEPs, including the latest European Commission's response, as "a new setback" for Morocco.
On Sunday last week, Algerian news outlet TSA claimed that the EU Commission's response was a "second major setback in a few months," recalling the European Court of Justice's hostile verdict of October 2024.
"Another cold shower for Morocco, which had prematurely declared victory after France's recognition of its sovereignty over the occupied territory," TSA wrote, stressing the Algerian regime's obsession with Morocco's territorial integrity and its frustration with the international community's growing support for the Moroccan cause.
Algeria's regime and its affiliated media often rush to celebrate any decision or statements challenging Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces, regardless of the neglectable impact or significance such actions end up having on the broader consensus regarding the region's future.
As Algerian political analyst Oualid Kebir told MWN, the European Commission's statement received "extensive media coverage in Algerian outlets, whereas it gained little attention in the international media."
For Kebir, a similar decision holds "no significant impact and contradicts the international momentum Morocco's cause has recently witnessed." In addition to France's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty, Morocco has been receiving widespread support from other European countries in addition to its traditional supporters in the Middle East, the Gulf region, Africa, and the Americas.
Over 20 EU countries now support Morocco's Autonomy Plan as the sole realistic basis to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
Dozens of African countries in addition to Arab states opened their consulates in Morocco's southern provinces in Dakhla and Laayoune, reflecting their support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan.
This is in addition to the US recognition of Morocco's territorial integrity and the continued disavowal of Polisario's self-proclaimed SADR by its former allies that are increasingly embracing the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as the best path forward for the Sahara. Kebir told Morocco World News (MWN) that Algerian media sought to take advantage of the EU Commission decision by "portraying it as a victory."
He also acknowledged the presence of some parties within the EU that "seek to use the issue as leverage to pressure Morocco, which is considered the EU's number one partner, with a large-scale trade relationship."
Such decisions will unlikely impact the EU's ties with Morocco, Kebir added, recalling Rabat's strong cards positioning the country as a main partner in irregular migration and security cooperation.
"It remains a strategic partner in several fields, particularly in combating irregular migration and ensuring strategic security cooperation," he said, noting that the European decision also contradicts the international momentum in the Western Sahara dispute Morocco has gained recently.
"Such a decision will not significantly impact the growing relations between Morocco and the EU, particularly in the fields of air travel and tourism, as Morocco continues to see a great influx of European tourists, with Dakhla becoming a preferred destination for many," Kebir told MWN.
Maneuvers against Morocco continue and will unlikely stop as Algeria's regime persists in its hostility towards its neighboring country.
Some MEPs, lacking knowledge of the dispute, also continue their maneuvers at the European Parliament.
The latest maneuver is a closed-door meeting at the EU Parliament, in which members of the Polisario Front will participate at the invitation of far-left MEPs. Several MEPs like Theirry Mariani and those from the PPE group announced they would be boycotting the meeting as they view Polisario as a threat to the region's stability.