6 Amendments of Mirja VEHKAPERÄ related to 2018/0256M(NLE)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that the EU and its Member States do not recognise the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over Western Sahara; underlines that Western Sahara is on the United Nations’ list of Non-Self-Governing territories; recalls that the States must respect the legal and political framework applicable under international law to such territories, notably in relation to the exploitation of natural resources therein;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. NotStresses that this agreement does not imply any form of recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara and that the EU’s position remains that of supporting UN efforts to secure a fair, lasting and mutually acceptable settlement of the Western Sahara conflict, on the basis of the right to self- determination of the Sahrawi people and in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions; reiterates, therefore, its full support to the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Mr Horst Köhler, in helping the parties to achieve this settlement;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Remains concerned that the restriction of the territorial application of the agreement to the part under Moroccan control may aggravate the division of Western Sahara, entail further difficulties for the Sahrawi people, including discrimination and restrictions to their enjoyment of the right to self- determination, raise frustrations among Western Saharans living in the continued humanitarian situation, and contradict international law;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that during inclusive consultations lwith concern the criticism raised towards the consultation process carried by the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) with a wide variety of Western Saharan local representatives, civil society organisations an; including reports that the overwhelming majority of the stakeholders claimed by the Commission to have been consulted have rejected that they had been included in the consultations; that the consulted stakeholders were largely composed of Moroccans or local representatives with direct interest in preserving the status quo ante, the notion that the Commission did nother organisations and bodies, broad support was expressed for the socio-economic benefits the proposed tariff preferences would bring travel to Western Sahara or the refugee camps but held negotiations in Rabat, as well as the notion that 94 Sahrawi civil society organisations denounced the agreement that was negotiated between the Commission and the government of Morocco;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Notes a recent report by FIDH/OMCT that two civil society representatives from Western Sahara who were invited to participate in the consultations in Brussels were subjected to reprisals from the Moroccan authorities as a result of this invitation; notes that both individuals have subsequently applied for asylum in an EU Member State;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes good note of the exchange of letters and acknowledges the efforts of the Commission and the EEAS in trying, within the remit of their competences, to evaluate the benefit for the population and to ascertain their consent to this agreement; stresses, neverthelunderlines, however, that ´the people of Western Sahara´ cannot be confused with the ´population of Western Sahara´, which includes non-indigenous Moroccan population; stress,es that more cshould be done to improvensure the traceability of products coming from Western Sahara; invites the Commission services, therefore, to engage further with the Moroccan authorities to improve this aspect, notably in order to produce clear and reliable statistics. and to avoid that the burden is put on EU customs authorities;