EU to appeal court annulment of Morocco trade deal

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union will challenge a decision by the bloc's top court to annul a farm trade deal with Morocco because it illegally involved the disputed region of Western Sahara, foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday.

Vowing to appeal the European Court of Justice's decision, Mogherini said the EU's international agreements should be respected.

The court had on Thursday annulled the trade deal signed in March 2012 between the north African country and the EU because it failed to explicitly refer to Western Sahara, leaving open the possibility that the accord would apply in the disputed region.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, had told AFP the body was considering an appeal.

The case was brought to the Luxembourg-based court by the Polisario Front, a movement in Western Sahara that has been campaigning for independence for decades with the backing of Morocco's arch-rival Algeria.

Morocco took control of most of the territory in November 1975 after the end of Spanish colonisation, unleashing a war for independence that lasted until 1991.

A UN-brokered ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario has held since then, but UN efforts to organise a referendum on the territory's future have been resisted by Rabat.

Two other cases introduced by the Polisario Front are also currently being dealt with by the same EU court.