MEP Catarina Martins (The Left) has called on the European Commission to suspend EU-Morocco trade agreements following a 7 June 2026 drone strike that killed Polisario Front commander Lehbib Mohamed Abdelaziz in Western Sahara. In a written parliamentary question submitted on 12 June 2026, Martins argues that the strike, ongoing repression, and the exclusion of Sahrawi representatives from trade negotiations violate the human rights clauses that are legally binding on both parties under EU trade law.
Martins points to the October 2024 annulment by the Court of Justice of two EU-Morocco agreements because Sahrawis had not given their consent. Despite this, the Commission produced a revised agreement in late 2025, which Martins says excluded legitimate Sahrawi representatives. She also highlights the case of Naâma Asfari, a Sahrawi political prisoner who has been imprisoned for 16 years after an unlawful trial and is currently on hunger strike.
what steps it will take in response to the drone strike and human rights violations; whether it will trigger the suspension clauses of the trade agreement over a breach of international law; and how it can justify maintaining an agreement that excludes a legitimate representative recognised by the Court of Justice.
The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks. Its answer will signal whether it views the events as triggering the human rights clause and whether it is willing to suspend trade preferences with Morocco over the Western Sahara issue.