The European Parliament on Wednesday sided with the logic of legal legitimacy and joint cooperation with the Kingdom of Morocco, after it rejected by only one vote the amendments aimed at changing the origin status of products coming from the southern provinces.

This vote, which received 359 votes short of the required quorum of 360, reflects the European institution's commitment to the formula adopted by the European Commission, which includes the regions of Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab among the official marks recognized in trade exchanges.

Despite intensive campaigns and attempts to influence the legislative process, the international pressure led by Algeria, its creation the Polisario Front, its allies within the radical left, and some opposing blocs in parliament failed. The proposed amendments faced objections from 188 deputies and abstentions from voting from 76 others, which ultimately led to the project's rejection and prevented the imposition of the name"Western Sahara" on Moroccan products exported to the European market.

This development represents a strong political and diplomatic blow to Algeria within European institutions, especially since the failure to adopt the amendments reinforces the pragmatic approach adopted by the European Union since the signing of the agricultural and maritime agreements with Rabat, based on recognizing the reality of the region as an administrative and legal determinant of the origin of goods, and it also enshrines the strategic partnership between the two parties, without compromising the international process or attempting to politicize economic files within the European space.

The final result of the vote confirms that the European Parliament chose not to engage in attempts to disrupt the ongoing political process regarding making the Moroccan autonomy proposal the basis for a just and implementable political settlement regarding the conflict file, as well as not wanting to disrupt the accumulation of positive discussions regarding the trade path with Morocco, in order to maintain the stability of the agreements and block any political exploitation of technical files related to trade exchange, at a time when Moroccan-European relations are witnessing advanced dynamism at the levels of energy security, green investments, and supply chains related to the common market.