Doha – Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, affirmed on Friday that relations between Spain, the EU and Morocco will continue to advance despite recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling annulling trade and fisheries agreements with the North African nation.
“If someone has had the political ambition, through the reading of these rulings, to try to put the brakes on the advancement of close relations between the EU and Morocco, or between Spain and Morocco, they have been mistaken, because those relationships are not only based on work but on mutual trust and the search for solutions,” Planas stated during a press conference in Harhoura, south of Rabat.
The minister’s comments came after participating in the 12th meeting of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) alongside Morocco’s newly appointed Agriculture Minister Ahmed Bouari.
Planas indicated that Spain and Morocco are analyzing the consequences of the ECJ rulings “in an optimistic way” to find “solutions for the future” with “a constructive and mutually decided basis” between the EU and Morocco.
“We believe there are possibilities to develop this strategic cooperation,” he added. “For each question that is put on the table, we will find the concrete solution. More than a general declaration, I think that is what we need to do in the immediate future and I am aware that this is what we are working on and the European Commission itself in this matter.”
Planas also highlighted recent messages from the European Council on October 17, which noted the ECJ ruling but reaffirmed its authority to design and direct EU foreign policy and expressed the “strategic” nature of the partnership with Morocco.
“I think those three points clearly show the will of the whole of the EU. It is a will in which Spain is perfectly integrated. Moreover, we have evidently defended the content of the conclusions,” he asserted.
During his bilateral meeting with Minister Bouari, Planas welcomed Morocco’s decision to authorize the import of fresh beef and sheep meat from Spain.
“Immediately, the Spanish meat sector will be informed to initiate the necessary commercial contacts,” a statement from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture said.
Planas remarked that this new commercial opening demonstrates the maturity of the Spanish market, with live animal exports evolving in recent years to make Morocco the main non-EU destination for sheep and cattle.
The ministers’ visit coincided with the CIHEAM meeting, where participants called for empowering youth and women in agri-food policies and insisted on advancing the sustainability of Mediterranean agriculture in the face of regional crises, conflicts and climate change.
Planas noted that food sovereignty is a challenge uniting countries on both sides of the Mediterranean but raises “key questions” and warned the current climate context requires consolidating measures to optimize water use and preserve fertile lands.
These latest comments come after Planas strongly reaffirmed Spain’s commitment to strengthening its relations with Morocco earlier this week, arguing that the deep bilateral ties are “above” the ECJ decision.
“The relations and the union and the common work that we share, the European Union and Morocco, are above what this ruling has raised,” Planas told reporters in Luxembourg before a meeting of EU agriculture ministers.
Read also: ‘Position Unchanged’: Albares Reaffirms Support for Morocco Amid ECJ Ruling
