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Rabat – The European Parliament on Wednesday rejected hostile attempts led by right-wing and far-right groups seeking to suspend the labeling of agricultural products from Morocco’s southern provinces in Western Sahara on the EU market.
The two hostile attempts were tabled separately by the Patriots for Europe and the European People’s Party.
In response, the European Parliament approved the draft delegated act presented by the European Commission, as part of the implementation of its commitments stemming from the Exchange of Letters Agreement concluded between Morocco and the EU on the export of Moroccan agricultural products to the EU market.
The decision sends a new blow to Polisario and Algeria’s regime, which have been lobbying to convince the EU to end the agricultural and fisheries partnerships between Morocco and Brussels.
On October 3, the EU and Morocco signed an agreement that introduces labeling requirements that highlight the origin of products, including Morocco’s Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab. This is aimed at strengthening the Moroccan identity of goods from these provinces, at a time when Algeria and Polisario continue to challenge Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The EU-Morocco agricultural deal ensures that agricultural products from Morocco’s southern regions in Western Sahara enjoy the same preferential access to European markets as products from the rest of the North African country.
Prior to the signing of the agreement, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita emphasized that the EU and Morocco concluded negotiations to amend the agricultural agreement linking both parties in a spirit of partnership and compromise.
He made his remarks a day ahead of the signing of the agreement, which will provide the necessary clarifications while respecting Morocco’s fundamentals.
The minister stressed the importance of the agreement to ensure the equal conditions given for goods from all parts of Morocco.
Bourita also recalled the development of Morocco’s southern provinces under King Mohammed VI’s vision.
“The Moroccan Sahara has become an area of development, connectivity, and prosperity, emerging as a hub of stability and regional growth,” he said.
Earlier this month, Spanish news agency EFE reported that the EU Commission also approved a proposal opening the path for future and potential negotiations on a new fishing agreement with Morocco.
The hostile attempts thwarted by the EU Parliament vote today align ith an anti-Morocco rhetoric led by pro-Polisario MEPs.
The attempts are also in line with the hostile ruling by the European Justice Court which ruled to annul both EU-Morocco trade and fishing agreements last year.
The court claimed the EU Commission “violated the right of self-determination of Western Sahara’s population” – a position that aligns with Polisario’s claims over Western Sahara.
Morocco responded to the ruling, emphasizing that it does not consider the verdict as relevant or important for its agricultural or fisheries agreements with the EU.
The North African country also urged the EU to take actions, and not words, to safeguard the partnership between Rabat and Brussels.
The EU’s entire institution reiterated the importance of bilateral ties as well as partnership with Morocco.
