This year, Spanish-Moroccan relations will be remembered for the Spanish government's change of position on the Western Sahara conflict. In March, Madrid recognised the Moroccan position of an autonomy under Moroccan tutelage as the best solution to the conflict, thus abandoning the notion that the UN would resolve the dispute. The shift is significant, as Western Sahara remains a territory pending decolonisation, making Madrid - the former colonial power - a stakeholder in its future international status.