<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The People's Party (PP) Parliamentary Group in Congress has urged the Government to guarantee Spanish management of Western Sahara's airspace through ENAIRE, the public business entity that manages air traffic in Spain, and under the supervision of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).</strong></h4> In a non-legislative motion presented on March 28 for debate in the Foreign Affairs Committee, the PP points out that Spain has managed the airspace of Western Sahara ("a non-self-governing territory pending decolonization, according to the UN") since 1976, through ENAIRE, under ICAO mandate. "This oversight has made it possible to guarantee the security, stability, and operational capacity of air traffic in the region, in accordance with international regulations," it adds. However, it continues, “following the unilateral change in position by the President of the Government (Pedro Sánchez) regarding Western Sahara, which supports Morocco's autonomy plan and breaks with the active neutrality maintained by all governments, deep concern has arisen, particularly regarding airspace management.” According to the PP, “the opacity and lack of explanations regarding the bilateral negotiations have generated uncertainty about the possibility of Spain handing over management of this strategic space without offering security guarantees or benefits for our country.” For example, the PP recalls that in the joint declaration signed by Pedro Sánchez and King Mohammed VI on April 7, 2022, “it was agreed to open a dialogue on the management of Western Sahara's airspace through the creation of an air cooperation working group.” “Since then, this group has met without the Government providing information on the scope of these negotiations or the impact they could have on air traffic management,” the main opposition party laments. Likewise, during the 12th High-Level Meeting between Spain and Morocco, held on February 1 and 2, 2023, “the Government signed agreements in different areas, including civil aviation,” but “has avoided detailing whether these talks addressed the possibility of transferring airspace management to Morocco.” “Despite the Government’s insistence that these meetings seek to improve technical cooperation, the possibility that Morocco could end up assuming control of Western Sahara’s airspace has not been ruled out, which would pose a serious problem from the perspective of international law,” since “any transfer of powers in its air management without the support of the ICAO would imply a flagrant violation of international law and would be equivalent to an implicit recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory,” warns the PP. The People's Party also recalls that the European Commission has reiterated that "aviation agreements between the EU and Morocco cannot be applied to Western Sahara without explicit consent, so any attempt to transfer management of this airspace without an appropriate legal framework could lead to conflicts with Brussels and international civil aviation organizations." The PP also regrets "the government's lack of transparency" in this matter, which prevents "knowing the operational, economic, and strategic impact" of a potential transfer. "Until now, Spain has maintained an efficient and secure control system, regulated by international standards, and any alteration to this structure must be carried out with complete transparency and ensuring the stability of commercial and military air traffic," it warns. "Ceding management of Western Sahara's airspace to Morocco without due parliamentary debate, without legal guarantees, and without transparency would be a betrayal of Spain's interests and a serious precedent in Spanish foreign policy," the PP adds. For all these reasons, the non-legislative motion urges the Government to "guarantee the maintenance of Spanish management of Western Sahara's airspace, through ENAIRE, and to continue carrying out this work under the supervision of ICAO" and to "immediately inform the Congress of the terms of the negotiations with Morocco on the management of Western Sahara's airspace." It also requests that "any modification to the management of Western Sahara's airspace be submitted to parliamentary debate and have the support of the competent international organizations" and urges the Executive to "request ICAO to ratify that Spain must continue to manage Western Sahara's airspace, in compliance with its mandate and regulations."
