Signs are emerging that Spain may be recalibrating its position on the EU’s trade agreement with Morocco, particularly as it relates to products originating from the southern provinces, Spanish media reported.
Representatives from COAG, one of Spain’s largest agricultural unions, say the EU is now quietly exploring legal workarounds that could sidestep the ruling, angering Spanish producers who face mounting competition from Moroccan imports.
“They’re giving us vague answers, telling us they’re working on it without providing concrete details,” said Andrés Góngora, a senior official at COAG at a major agricultural union in Spain, after a recent visit to Brussels. “Everything feels too secretive.”
At the heart of the issue is a 2021 decision by the European Court of Justice, which ruled that goods originating in the territory of the Moroccan Sahara must be distinctly labeled and cannot be included under the Morocco-EU trade deal without “the explicit consent of the Sahrawi people.”
Spain, along with four other European nations, has openly supported the legality of the existing agreements with Morocco.
One option reportedly under consideration by EU officials is to justify the agreement by demonstrating that Sahrawi populations benefit economically from it, even though they were not involved in the original deal.
The dispute comes as Morocco expands its footprint in Mediterranean agriculture, particularly in high-demand exports such as avocados, exacerbating fears among Spanish farmers of unfair competition and weakening safeguards for European agriculture.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.