The European Union Has Changed Its Position on Western Sahara
WESTERN SAHARA · GEOPOLITICS
Key Facts
—The resolution: On 31 October 2025 the UN Security Council called genuine autonomy a most feasible outcome.
—The European shift: On 29 January 2026 the EU and Morocco called autonomy one of the most realistic solutions.
—What autonomy would mean: Western Sahara would get its own executive, legislature and judiciary; Morocco keeps defence, foreign affairs and religious authority.
—The count: Morocco says over 100 UN states back the plan; more than 30 have opened consulates in Laâyoune or Dakhla.
—The opposition: Polisario Front and Algeria reject the plan, still demand a referendum; Polisario hardened its stance since October 2025.
—The catch: No vote or mechanism has been agreed to test whether Sahrawi people accept the autonomy plan.
The European Union said in January 2026 that Morocco’s autonomy plan could be one of the most realistic solutions for Western Sahara. It made the statement jointly with Morocco, echoing a United Nations Security Council resolution from October 2025.
Morocco’s government says more than 100 countries now back the plan. The Polisario Front, the Sahrawi movement seeking independence for the territory, has rejected the plan more firmly than before.
What changed in the Western Sahara autonomy plan file
On 31 October 2025, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2797. It said genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty could represent “a most feasible outcome” for the territory.
The vote was not unanimous. Eleven council members voted in favour, three abstained — China, Russia and Pakistan — and Algeria did not take part.
The language matters. The United Nations had spent three decades framing the dispute around a referendum on self-determination.
Shifting that reference point changes what any negotiation means.
On 29 January 2026, EU governments met Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, as the EU-Morocco Association Council in Brussels. They said in a joint statement that Morocco’s autonomy proposal could be a basis for talks.
The Association Council is the senior body that runs the EU’s partnership agreement with Morocco. It includes all 27 EU member states, the European Commission and Morocco’s government.
The exact wording was cautious. It called autonomy “one of the most realistic solutions” — a considered opinion, not recognition of Moroccan sovereignty.
All 27 EU governments signed on to it, officials said, a first for the bloc on this dispute.
What autonomy would actually look like
Under Morocco’s proposal, Western Sahara would become an autonomous region within the kingdom. It would run its own executive, legislature and courts through locally elected institutions.
Rabat, Morocco’s capital, would keep control of defence, foreign relations and religious affairs, under the king’s authority. Those are the usual powers a central government keeps in any autonomy arrangement.
Autonomy arrangements like this have worked in some places and failed in others.
The unresolved question is consent.
Any autonomy plan depends on acceptance by the people it would govern. No vote or similar mechanism has been agreed to test that acceptance.
The Polisario has hardened rather than folded
The Polisario Front and Algeria reject the plan and continue to call for a referendum on independence. The Front says it has hardened its position since the October 2025 resolution passed.
Algeria did not take part in the Security Council vote, and its government has long backed the Polisario’s position. Algeria’s rivalry with Morocco shapes much of North African politics.
Rights groups, including Western Sahara Resource Watch, say Morocco’s plan has never been tested by a vote of the Sahrawi people. They argue that makes it hard to call the plan a genuine act of self-determination.
A diplomatic shift in Brussels does not end the dispute on the ground. Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, in Algeria, have existed for about five decades and are unaffected by any statement from Europe.
Why Latin America keeps appearing in this story
Latin America has been unusually contested ground in this dispute. Several countries there recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in earlier decades, and some have since reversed course.
Ecuador said in December 2024 that Morocco’s autonomy plan was important for the dispute. It had already withdrawn recognition of the Sahrawi republic that October.
Colombia went further. It officially recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the territory on 8 August 2026, and froze relations with the Sahrawi republic two days later.
Rabat saw both moves as diplomatic wins. Other Latin American governments, such as Venezuela’s, still recognise the Sahrawi republic.
Morocco’s government has run a long diplomatic campaign in the Americas and Africa. Its most visible tool is opening consulates in Laâyoune and Dakhla.
Morocco says more than 30 countries have opened such consulates, though independent counts are harder to confirm.
For readers, this is where a distant territorial dispute becomes a regional foreign-policy question.
The resource file underneath the diplomacy
Western Sahara holds phosphate deposits and some of the richest fishing grounds in the Atlantic Ocean. Both have been the subject of European court cases over whether Sahrawi consent was obtained for their use.
The EU’s top court has repeatedly ruled that trade and fishing deals covering the territory need Sahrawi consent, most recently in 2024. That forced Brussels to renegotiate the agreements.
Renewable energy has been added to the list. The wider region has strong wind and solar resources, and power-cable exports to Europe have been proposed.
A more united European position could make such projects easier to finance than a contested legal status did.
Phosphate remains the most strategic resource in this dispute. Morocco already holds the world’s largest phosphate reserves.
The Bou Craa mine in Western Sahara is one of the largest single phosphate mines on Earth. It still accounts for only a small share of Morocco’s total reserves.
What to watch next
The first thing to watch is whether talks resume, and whether the Polisario Front takes part in a process built around autonomy.
The second is the next round of European fishing and trade deals, which will test whether the EU’s stance survives legal challenge.
The third is the pace of further recognitions, particularly in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the European Union decide on Western Sahara?
In January 2026, EU governments said jointly with Morocco that autonomy could be one of the most realistic solutions. That was not a formal recognition of Moroccan sovereignty.
What does Morocco’s autonomy plan propose?
Western Sahara would become an autonomous region inside Morocco, with its own executive, legislature and courts. Rabat, Morocco’s capital, would keep control of defence, foreign relations and religious affairs.
How many countries support the plan?
Morocco says more than 100 UN member states now support it, and that over 30 have opened consulates in Laâyoune or Dakhla. Independent counts are harder to confirm.
Who opposes the autonomy plan?
The Polisario Front and Algeria reject it and continue to call for a referendum on self-determination. Algeria did not take part in the October 2025 Security Council vote.
Why does Latin America matter in this dispute?
Several Latin American states recognised the Sahrawi republic in earlier decades, and some have since reversed course, including Ecuador and Colombia.
Connected Coverage
Colombia’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty is covered separately.
Resource politics run alongside the diplomacy.
The wider contest is tracked in Africa: The New Scramble.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times