The European Commission announced that it is still analyzing the two October 4 rulings by the EU Court of Justice, one “annulling the part of the EU-Morocco agricultural agreement extending concessions to products from Western Sahara and another addressing the labeling of products from that region,” according to a Spanish media report.
The source additionally mentioned that during a meeting of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee on Monday, “the Commission did not clarify what actions it will take to comply with these rulings.”
Mauro Pionelli, head of the Wine, Alcohol, and Horticultural Products Unit, emphasized that the Commission is internally evaluating all aspects of the rulings to ensure compliance and clarified that “while the Court questioned tariff preferences for Western Sahara, the EU-Morocco Association Agreement remains unaffected.”
The Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, and Live Plants (FEPEX) interpreted this as a sign that the Commission does not intend to amend the Association Agreement with Morocco.
During the session, MEPs called for “implementing the Court’s rulings,” with Spanish MEP Carmen Crespo “criticizing the impact of agricultural concessions to Morocco on EU producers. “
She cited a surge in imports, with Morocco becoming the main supplier of red fruits and accounting for 73.7% of non-EU tomato imports. Crespo also expressed concerns about weak import controls and farmers’ lack of trust in the enforcement of the agreements.
For their part, German Green MEP Martin Häusling and Italian Green MEP Cristina Guarda called for “the renegotiation of the agreement with Morocco, demanding stronger monitoring of imports to ensure compliance with EU standards.”
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