This is the second report on the implementation of the Agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco that extends the tariff preferences provided for in the EU-Morocco Association Agreement to products originating in Western Sahara that entered into force on 19 July 2019. The 2021 report shows that the Agreement is being implemented smoothly, and that the Agreement is resulting in benefits for Western Sahara and its population as exports to the EU and employment figures show a continuing and moderate increasing trend, which to a large extent can be considered as due to the granting of the tariff preferences under the Agreement.
In addition to information on the economy of Western Sahara and on the evolution of its exports to the EU in 2020, the report also contains a description of the latest developments with respect to the case brought before the EU’s General Court by the Polisario Front, the UN-led peace process, and the situation with respect to fundamental rights. Although in its judgement of 29 September 2021 in the case Front Polisario v Council, the General Court annulled Council Decision (EU) 2019/217 of 28 January 2019 on the conclusion of the Agreement, since the judgement has been subject to appeals before the Court of Justice, as provided for in the General Court ruling, Council Decision 2019/217 remains applicable, as is the Agreement, pending the judgement of the Court of Justice.
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