Polisario Front’s return to EU Parliament faces backlash as MEPs boycott meeting

Several members of the European Parliament staged a boycott of a  meeting today that included representatives of the Polisario Front.

The session, organized by far-left factions within the EP’s Committee on International Trade, was intended to discuss recent Court of Justice rulings concerning EU-Morocco trade and fisheries agreements in the disputed Sahara region. 

The invitation of Polisario representatives sparked a backlash, particularly from MEPs aligned with the European People’s Party and the European Conservatives and Reformists.

Among the most vocal critics was French MEP Thierry Mariani, who condemned the initiative as a “provocation” that would undermine EU-Morocco relations.

 Mariani accused the far-left of using the meeting to allow the Polisario Front, which he claims is backed by Algeria, to re-enter the European Parliament through the “back door” after the dissolution of the “Western Sahara” intergroup. 

This group, which had long advocated for Polisario separatism, was formally dissolved by the EP in November 2023, a move that reflected shifting geopolitical realities, including Spain’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Mariani, alongside other MEPs from the Patriots for Europe group, expressed concerns over the Polisario’s links to Islamist groups and its history of violent actions against Moroccan civilians. 

Nicolas Bay, the vice-president of the ECR, also joined the boycott, calling the invitation “scandalous” and an insult to both Morocco and the EU’s broader interests in the region.