Assahafa.com
The long palpable frustration of the Polisario Front is yet again set to deepen as the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for the Western Sahara region continues to garner support, including from countries that were once supportive of, or sympathetic to, the separatist front’s statehood aspirations in southern Morocco.
After a growing list of countries like Denmark, Finland, and others joined in support of Morocco’s “serious and credible” initiative, Estonia has shifted its position from merely offering generic backing for the UN-led political process to specifically endorsing Morocco’s Autonomy Planas a solid basis for resolving the dispute.
Estonia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Margus Tsahkna conveyed his country’s new position today during a meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Rabat.
Following the meeting, the Estonian official said that his government “views the autonomy plan, presented in April 2007 by Morocco to the UN Secretary-General, as a serious and credible foundation for a definitive solution to the issue of the Moroccan Sahara.”
Estonia is the 19th EU country to have embraced the Moroccan initiative, with the move reflecting the country’s positive shift in its position regarding Morocco’s territorial integrity.
The new position is notably significant as it makes Estonia the first country in the Baltic region to support Morocco’s autonomy initiative for its southern provinces.
“Support for the Autonomy Initiative extends beyond immediate European neighbors to reach the Baltic region of Eastern Europe,” an authorized source told Morocco World News (MWN) today, adding that this new position reinforces the ever growing international support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Estonia’s new position also reflects the momentum and the significant traction Morocco has been gaining among EU countries, demonstrating a growing consensus to maintain strong bilateral ties with Rabat, against hostile maneuvers targeting the strategic partnership between the two parties.
The growing consensus is evident in the reactions of EU countries to the recent hostile ruling of the European Court of Justice regarding the fisheries and agriculture partnership agreements between Morocco and the EU.
The ruling, issued on October 4, declared EU-Morocco trade agreements on agriculture and fisheries as “illegal,” and accused the EU Commission of violating “right to self-determination” for the “Western Sahara people.”
Many member states, including France, Spain, Belgium and others, have backed the EU-Morocco partnership and called for further deepening ties between Rabat and Brussels.
Spain reiterated its position against the ruling during a press statement in Luxembourg, stressing its government’s commitment to deepening strategic ties with Morocco despite the court’s hostile ruling.
The Spanish minister also said Spain would continue to work on strengthening bilateral ties with Morocco.
The remarks align with the recent statements by a considerable number of EU member countries last week on Friday, EU leaders emphasized the “high value” they place on relations with Morocco and their intention to strengthen cooperation with Rabat.
“The European Council reaffirms the high value that the EU attaches to its strategic partnership with Morocco and reiterates the need to preserve and continue strengthening close relations with Morocco in all areas of the partnership,” EU leaders said.
The statement echoed a similar press release from October 14, when EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell emphasized the importance of the “deep friendship” with Morocco and the EU’s intention to expand what he described as a highly strategic and vital cooperation.
“We established a deep friendship and cooperate in multiple facets, and we want to continue and expand this cooperation in the coming months,” he said.
Similarly, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and High Representative Borrell issued on October 4 a joint statement in which they reiterated the EU’s commitment to its strategic partnership with Morocco.
The EU-Morocco relationship is “long-standing, wide-ranging and deep,” they noted, stressing that both parties intend to elevate their collaboration in the coming weeks and months.” Beyond Belgium, France, and Spain, many other EU countries have expressed support for further cementing EU-Morocco ties, including Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, among others.
This deepening embrace of Morocco’s autonomy proposal for its southern provinces also falls within the growing visibility of the North Africa kingdom’s efforts seeking to consolidate South South cooperation and solidarity to address shared challenges and promote regional initiatives aimed at advancing stability and regional and international socio-economic development.
As this international continues to consolidate its momentum on the Sahara question, Morocco has firmly reiterated its confidence that the ECJ’s hostile ruling and similar maneuvers will not undermine its territorial integrity or derail its diplomatic gains on the Western Sahara question. sovereignty over its southern provinces.
Source: Morocco word news
