European leaders criticise Ghali's presence at EU-AU summit

The presence of Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali at the EU-African Union summit has caused concern among MEPs present. Some of them complain that his presence could lead to political and diplomatic problems with Morocco, as well as complications for Europe's future and diplomacy. 

On his arrival in Brussels as a member of the African Union, Ghali was not received by any of the European leaders attending the summit. Similarly, the Polisario leader was not able to meet with any European heads of government or EU foreign ministers. In this regard, the EU reiterated that none of the member states recognise the 'Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)' and called for a solution to the Western Sahara issue, a conflict that is entering its fortieth anniversary. 

The EU spokesman for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Peter Stano, recalled that Ghali's invitation to the international meeting came from the African Union, and that the European Union "is co-organiser with the African Union (...) so it is the African Union that issued the invitation".

Stano also explained that his presence at the summit "does not change the position of the European Union" with regard to its recognition, since, as he explained, "none of the EU Member States recognise it". In this context, this political line was already reiterated by the European Union itself during the previous EU-AU summit held in Abidjan in 2017, a meeting at which Brahim Ghali was also present.

At present, the EU continues to work to strengthen relations with Morocco. The last European country to return to the path of cooperation with its southern neighbour was Germany, which had rejected Morocco's proposal for a solution to the Western Sahara issue. It was at this point that Morocco recalled its ambassadors for consultations, thus cooling relations with Germany.

However, under the new presidency of Olaf Scholz, good relations between the two countries have been restored after Berlin showed itself open to resuming diplomatic relations with Rabat after supporting Morocco's autonomy proposal for Western Sahara, a very significant gesture for the Alawite kingdom. 

It is in this last aspect that Morocco is trying to influence the rest of the European capitals to position themselves in favour of the Moroccan autonomy proposal, something that the United States already did during Donald Trump's presidency and which it hopes countries such as Spain will eventually do.

In addition, the current diplomatic crisis between Spain and Morocco stems from the admission of Brahim Ghali to Logroño to receive medical treatment for a condition derived from COVID-19. However, Ghali's admission was the tip of the iceberg of an issue of much greater concern to Morocco, and that is Madrid's position on the resolution of the Western Sahara issue. 

Spain's position, as the Secretary of State for Global Spain, Manuel Muñiz, recalled, is "framed within the UN Security Council resolutions and international consensus". He also stressed that from the outset Spain supports "what the United Nations Security Council has asked for, which is that a dialogue be held between the Saharawi and Moroccan sides on the status of the region and that it be mediated by MINURSO".

Faced with this position, Ghali declared in an interview for Antena 3 that he had never felt "an active participation of the European authorities so that the weight of the EU is exercised and helps to solve this conflict that has been going on for more than 40 years". He added that "Spain has a total and complete responsibility in this conflict. It has to be assumed in one way or another, today, tomorrow or in X amount of time". 

In view of this situation, Morocco asks Spain to make its voice heard, since it is "a key country for the resolution of the conflict". On the other hand, Rabat has now pinned some of its hopes on Paris after France took over the rotating presidency of the European Union for six months.

With Macron's new leadership, Morocco sees France as a strategic partner capable of bringing the Alawi kingdom and the 27 European countries closer together. In addition to seeking to influence this issue, Rabat aims to strengthen ties with Europe on such transcendental issues as security, immigration and border protection.