EU Parliament: Moroccan products to EU will not change label

The EU Parliament has rejected a proposal to change the labels of Moroccan products originating from the Western Sahara, which means the Morocco-EU agricultural deal has remained unaltered, reported Moroccan government-friendly Yabiladi on November 26th.

The resolution put to a vote in the EU Parliament had to secure a two-thirds majority to urge the European Commission for the label agreement to be dropped. But the vote failed: the proposal got 359 votes in favour, 189 against, and 76 abstentions — just one vote short of the required threshold.

The proposal which was introduced by Members of the European Parliament (MEP) from the European People’s Party (EPP) argued that the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) specifies that “the territory of Western Sahara must be considered as a distinct customs territory for the purposes of Article 60 of the Customs Code (…) which can only designate Western Sahara as the origin.”

The CJEU had previously annulled the agricultural deal, citing that the people of Western Sahara had not given their consent.

The trade agreement has outlined that agricultural and fisheries products originating from the Moroccan Sahara will continue to enjoy accommodating trade policies, and has assured continued access for Moroccan products to European markets. With the rejection of this proposal, Morocco and the EU can continue their trade agreement as agreed.

After Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara was supported by the UN as most feasible, Niger, Gambia, and Malawi are the latest supporters of the solution. The EU has historically not recognised the Western Sahara territory, which delegitimises the authority of the Polisario Front. Both Algeria and the Polisario Front are facing increasing diplomatic pressure over their stance.

Yabiladi, Maghrebi.org