It is time for the European Parliament’s President to clearly rebuke the European Commission over the new and controversial trade agreement with Morocco. This is the clear message in a letter just sent from XX cross-party MEPs to Roberta Metsola, the EP’s President today.

The letter clearly criticises how the new agreement with Morocco de facto recognizes and rewards the country’s decades-long illegal occupation of Western Sahara, by specifically including goods from Western Sahara. It also goes on to protest the way the European Commission wants the agreement to enter into force before the Parliament has been consulted. Lastly it addresses the fact that the new agreement seems to fall into the exact same issues that have made the European Court of Justice annul previous agreements. Last time that happened, was in October 2024.

Danish LEFT MEP, Per Clausen, who initiated the letter lays out the reasons for it as follows:

It is wild to see the European Commission in the same act ignore both the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice and international law. This is why we felt we had to act – and had to ask the European Parliament’s head to act.

Calls for rebuking the Commission on three points

In their letter, MEPs call for the President of the European Parliament to rebuke the European Commission on three separate points regarding the new agreement. As they write,  they want Roberta Metsola to “officially and in no uncertain terms rebuking the European Commission” on the following points:

1. Wanting a trade agreement to enter provisionally into force, before the European Parliament has approved it – something which the Parliament has explicitly told the European Commission not to do again.

2. Wanting to conclude an agreement which so clearly ignores numerous decisions by the ECJ on the same topic.

3. Contributing to undermining an international rules-based community, by de-facto rewarding the continued illegal occupation of Western Sahara via the agreement, which allows the Kingdom of Morocco to continue to economically exploit Western Sahara.

Each of these points should, on their own, be more than sufficient to warrant official action from the European Parliament and put together, it would frankly be absurd to let it pass in silence. We cannot have the EU ignoring both international law and the EU’s own court in this way, says Danish MEP Per Clausen.

Backers from different groups and countries

Behind the letter, which originated from Members of the Left, are Members of the European Parliament from the Left, the Greens and the S&D political groups – as well as from the non-attached members.

In terms of geography, the signatories hail from Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.

For MEP Per Clausen, it is important that support from the letter comes from a broad base:

I think the list of signatories show broad the concern for the trade agreement and what it means for the occupied peoples of Western Sahara, really is.

The signatories

The XX Members of the European Parliament who have signed the letter are the following:

1. Per Clausen, Member of the European Parliament (DK/Left)
2. Hanna Gedin, Member of the European Parliament (SE/Left)
3. Jonas Sjösted, Member of the European Parliament (SE/Left)
4. Catarina Martins, Member of the European Parliament (PT/Left)
5. Merja Kyllönen, Member of the European Parliament (FI/Left)
6. Li Andersson, Member of the European Parliament (FI/Left)
7. Jussi Saramo, Member of the European Parliament (FI/Left)
8. Irene Montero, Member of the European Parliament (ES/Left)
9. Isabel Serra Sánchez, Member of the European Parliament (ES/Left)
10. Rudi Kennes, Member of the European Parliament (BE/Left)
11. Ana Miranda Paz, Member of the European Parliament (ES/Greens)
12. Vicent Marzà Ibáñez, Member of the European Parliament (ES/Greens)
13. Andreas Schieder, Member of the European Parliament (AT/S&D)
14. Vladimir Prebilič, Member of the European Parliament (SL/Greens)
15. Tineke Strik, Member of the European Parliament (NL/Greens)
16. Elisabeth Grossmann, Member of the European Parliament (AT/S&D)
17. Lynn Boylan, Member of the European Parliament (IE/Left)
18. Pernando Barrena, Member of the European Parliament (ES/Left)
19. Ruth Firmenich, Member of the European Parliament (DE/NI)
20. Estrella Galán, Member of the European Parliament (ES/Left)
21. Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, Member of the European Parliament (DK/Greens)
22. Rasmus Nordqvist, Member of the European Parliament (DK/Greens)
23. Villy Søvndal, Member of the European Parliament (DK/Greens)
24. Martin Günther, Member of the European Parliament (DE/Left)
25. Maria Zacharia, Member of the European Parliament (GR/NI)
26. Catarina Vieira, Member of the European Parliament (NL/Greens)
27. Alice Kuhnke, Member of the European Parliament (SE/Greens)
28. Isabella Lövin, Member of the European Parliament (SE/Greens)
29. Pär Holmgren, Member of the European Parliament (SE/Greens)

The letter

The letter to the President of the European Parliament can be found here: Letter to Roberta Metsola on Western Sahara and trade

More about the issue

You can read more about the issue of the controversial agreement and European Parliament reactions to it here:

• Trouw, 20th October 2025: Of de Sahrawi nu willen of niet: Marokko blijft tomaten en meloenen uit hun illegaal bezet gebied exporteren naar Europa
• Arbejderen, 16th October 2025: MEP’er opfordrer EU-parlamentets formand til at tage handling over for kontroversiel handelsaftale med Marokko
• Info Libre, 10th October 2025: España justifica el abandono del Sáhara Occidental apelando a la “relación estratégica” con Marruecos
• Euractiv 9th October 2025: MEPs urge Metsola to rebuke Commission over Morocco trade deal
• El Independiente, 9th October 2025: Eurodiputados cargan contra el nuevo acuerdo de la UE con Marruecos y acusan a Von der Leyen de “recompensar la ocupación ilegal del Sáhara”
• Le Desk, 9th October 2025: Maroc-UE: Des Eurodéputés demandent au Parlement de désapprouver le nouvel accord agricole
• Forbes, 8th October 2025: Un grupo de 29 eurodiputados pide por carta a Metsola que desapruebe el acuerdo comercial UE-Marruecos
• Infobae, 8th October 2025: Un grupo de 29 eurodiputados pide por carta a Metsola que desapruebe el acuerdo comercial UE-Marruecos
• Agence Europe, 7th October 2025: MEPs deplore provisional application of EU-Morocco agreement without consent of European Parliament