2026-02-05

67. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide an update on her Department’s stance on the amendments to the EU-Morocco trade deal; the use of provisional application for the deal; the way in which it interacts with the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8707/26]

The previous EU-Morocco trade deal was struck down by the European courts because it was found to violate the rights of the Sahrawi people. This new trade deal has entered provisional application, despite persistent concerns around the involvement of the Sahrawi people, and the lack of engagement with or tangible benefit for them. What is the Department's stance on the deal and its compliance with the ruling of the Courts of Justice of the European Union?

I thank Deputy Gibney for raising this. If the Deputy does not mind, I acknowledge the work of Senator Alice-Mary Higgins in this regard. I have taken a Commencement matter for her in the Seanad and have had many engagements on what is a complex issue. It is good that we are discussing it. On 4 October 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld an earlier ruling of the General Court annulling the Council decision on the conclusion of a 2018 agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco. The 2018 agreement sought to extend tariff preferences laid down in an EU-Morocco association agreement to products originating in Western Sahara. The court set a deadline of 4 October 2025, in that it maintained the effects of the Council decision until that date. The Commission thus worked to negotiate a new agreement between the EU and Morocco by that date. The EU and Morocco signed a new agreement on 3 October 2025, and its provisional application began. On 2 October 2025, Ireland voted in favour of the Council decision via written procedure, indicating that Ireland would not stand in the way of EU consensus and in order to ensure that the EU complied with its legal obligations. However, Ireland also registered procedural and substantive concerns about the Commission’s handling of this process. Ireland made clear that we expect to receive regular updates from the Commission on key issues as the agreement is implemented. The process towards adoption of a Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the EU of the new agreement with Morocco has not yet reached its conclusion. The next step requires the consent of the European Parliament. Ireland has continued to follow up with the EU institutions with regard to an expected date for this next step. We have not yet received an update in that regard. 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.

I thank the Minister of State. It is comforting to hear that there is activity on the part of the Government on this. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the consent of the Sahrawi people had to be sought or that there had to be a tangible benefit for them. Instead of seeking their consent, the EU committed to provide tangible benefit to them and to a regular control mechanism to evaluate the benefit required for implicit consent. Can the Minister of State provide clarity on that control mechanism in the deal? What is Ireland doing? The Minister of State stated that we are seeking updates and so on, but I ask him to seek that clarity and ensure it is robust enough to uphold the rights of the Sahrawi people or guarantee them that tangible benefit in line with the ruling. It is incredible to me that we have a trade deal that has been in provisional application since October, yet there is no clarity on how it is better than the previous version of the deal, which the courts ruled against. I welcome Ireland registering those concerns. Morocco enjoys preferential tariffs while the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara continue to be dispossessed of their land and occupied.

It must be made clear that Ireland maintains bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Morocco. We have an embassy there and a resident ambassador here, but we also maintain engagement with the opposition within Western Sahara. We do have that full engagement with all peoples, recognising that about 20% of Western Sahara is under the control of the self-determination movement. We tread a delicate line here, to be quite frank. I am not trying to be evasive or dismissive in any regard. The irony of having to uphold obligations under EU law and implementing something while there is still a full ratification process under way is not lost on me. The concerns that the Irish Government raised were multifaceted, but the pace with which this agreement was concluded was of major concern to us, and we raised that. There is a little bit of extra detail that I might supply the Deputy with in written form. I do not have it to hand at this moment.

I thank the Minister of State. I would like the Irish Government to champion a pathway for a referendum on self-determination, something which was promised after independence from France decades ago and never actioned. Instead, it seems like the world is keen to move on and ignore it if it means cheaper Moroccan imports and co-operation on migration policy. The Commission's proposals for delivering on tangible benefit as part of this deal include investment in Moroccan companies in Western Sahara, essentially financially incentivising continued occupation which features well-documented human rights abuses and surveillance of Sahrawis. Another aspect of their proposal is to deliver tangible benefit, as I mentioned, via humanitarian aid to Sahrawi refugee camps. I know the Minister of State agrees with me that humanitarian aid should not be used as a bargaining chip to trade away the rights of a struggling people. I am asking that this conviction be expressed by the Department on this specific trade deal. It is clear that this trade deal has serious flaws and has not complied with the ruling of the Courts of Justice. What are the Department and the Government going to do about it? I appreciate the Minister of State's stance on the delicacy.

I had another question on this, which probably will not be reached. I have to say a couple of things. First, the Irish Government has historically had a strong position in relation to this. I ask the Minister of State to maintain that and to maintain support for Sahrawi self-determination. On a minor note - it may not be minor in some respects - I do not agree with the framing of the SADR as "the opposition". That implies that it is the opposition within Morocco. It is recognised by some countries as the legitimate government of Western Sahara. I do not believe that it is recognised at this point by the Irish Government, but it is recognised as a government. It is the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. The current situation is not sustainable. There is nearly no other country in the world that I can think of where the majority of the population is in exile in refugee camps. That is the case currently. The majority of the Sahrawi people are in refugee camps in southern Algeria. It is important that there is a referendum. It was promised decades ago back in the early nineties. That needs to progress. Ireland should insist on that. We must ensure that the rights of the Sahrawi people are not discarded through this process of the trade deal.

I want to make a brief comment as co-ordinator of the Ireland-Morocco Parliamentary Friendship Group. In recent times, I have become increasingly aware that an ever-increasing number of countries have moved to a position where they see the solution to this intractable problem, which must be resolved, having regard to sovereignty and human rights. More and more countries, including many of our European colleagues, see the resolution to the problem resting in establishing Western Sahara's autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. That seems to the be the proposal that is winning ever-increasing support. It is something that I raised with the Minister for foreign affairs here some weeks ago.

I would encourage the Deputy not to.

I appreciate the intervention - I am looking up to make sure I am not missing anyone - from all three Deputies. What I want to get through is real clarity. Ireland's position on Western Sahara has been, and continues to be, guided by the aim of achieving a just and lasting political solution that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, as to Deputy Ó Laoghaire's point, and we make that point at every opportunity that we are given. Ireland's engagement on this issue will also continue to take account of the role of and the insights provided by the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura. Officials in the Department continuously keep any relevant developments under review, including in the context of the EU and UN discussions. On 31 October, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 2797, extending the mandate of the UN mission for the referendum in Western Sahara for one year. Ireland is considering the implications of the MINURSO mandate renewal following its adoption. We maintain a full awareness of what is going on and the complexity it provides in EU negotiations and the changing shifts of other member state governments. Ireland has not changed its opinion. It has maintained it. That underlines all aspects of negotiations and discussions as laid out here today.

Question No. 69 is grouped with Questions Nos. 108, 121 and 125.

I am not on that one.

We now move to Deputy Ó Laoghaire and Question No. 72.

I probably just addressed it. I had not anticipated this question would come up. It is on the same matter so I have probably addressed the point. I am satisfied to pass on it.