EU parliament clears Morocco aviation pact update for final approval

The European Parliament has approved a protocol updating the EU-Morocco aviation agreement to include Croatia, more than a decade after the country joined the European Union.

The measure passed with 625 votes in favor, 16 against and 20 abstentions during a July 8 plenary session, securing support from about 95% of lawmakers.

The protocol does not reopen the original aviation agreement or change how it operates. Instead, it makes the legal and technical adjustments needed for Croatia to fully join the agreement after becoming an EU member in 2013.

The update still needs final approval from the Council of the European Union before it officially enters into force.

The EU-Morocco aviation agreement, signed in 2006, was the first comprehensive air transport deal the bloc concluded with a non-European partner. It opened the market between Morocco and EU member states, allowing airlines greater access and helping expand routes between the two sides.

According to European Parliament documents, the agreement has nearly tripled air connectivity between Morocco and EU countries since it entered into force by increasing the number of destinations, encouraging new airlines to enter the market and boosting competition.

The newly approved protocol does not alter any of the agreement’s rules on market access, airline competition, safety standards or operating rights. Its only purpose is to ensure Croatia enjoys the same rights and obligations as the rest of the EU’s member states under the existing framework.

Still, the vote has revived a long-running legal debate over whether the agreement applies to flights linking EU countries with airports in Morocco’s southern provinces.

The issue dates back to a 2018 ruling by the EU General Court in a case brought by the Polisario Front challenging the aviation agreement. While examining whether the case could proceed, the court said the agreement could not be interpreted as applying to the Moroccan Sahara.

On that basis, it dismissed the case, finding the challenged EU decision did not directly affect the applicant.

Several airlines, including Ryanair, Transavia, Binter, Air Arabia and Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc, continue to operate scheduled flights between European cities and the airports of Laayoune and Dakhla.