The not – binding Opinion of the European Union Court of Justice’s Advocate General Melchior Wathelet came in response to British-based campaigners who said Britain was wrong to uphold the EU-Morocco fisheries deal. Britain asked the European Court of Justice for advice.

Advocate General Melchior Wathelet claimed that the EU’s fisheries deal with Morocco should be invalidated because it applies to the Western Sahara and its adjacent waters. He grounded his decision in the principles of self-determination, sovereignty over natural resources and humanitarian rules concerning disputed or occupied territories, explaining that “the fisheries exploitation by the EU of the waters adjacent to Western Sahara established and implemented by the contested acts does not respect the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination”.