With just days before a European court ruling takes effect that could have disrupted Morocco’s farm exports, the European Commission has quietly advanced a proposal to maintain tariff preferences for produce grown in the Sahara.
The plan, reported by the Spanish daily ABC, reflects the EU’s determination to safeguard ties with Morocco, its key agricultural and strategic partner in North Africa.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in October 2024 that the Sahara could not be included in the EU–Morocco Association Agreement because Morocco does not formally hold sovereignty over the territory under international law.
To prevent sudden disruption, the court allowed a one-year grace period, set to expire in early October.
According to ABC, the Commission has drafted an amendment that would keep Saharan exports within the EU trade framework, while also providing EU funding for local development in irrigation, energy, and anti-desertification, and support for Sahrawi camps in Algeria.
The formula is designed to align with the ECJ’s observation that trade preferences could remain valid if they generated “implicit consent” by benefiting the local population.
Morocco’s central role
The maneuver underlines Brussels’s recognition of Morocco’s importance. For years, Rabat has tied deeper trade cooperation to respect for its territorial integrity, insisting that Western Sahara is an integral part of the kingdom
. For the EU, maintaining that relationship is critical not only for agricultural supply but also for cooperation on migration, counterterrorism, and regional stability.
Morocco has invested heavily in transforming the desert into a horticultural hub, with greenhouses around Dakhla and Laayoune producing cherry tomatoes and other crops for European markets.
King Mohammed VI’s development model sees the sector as both an engine for growth and a means of anchoring infrastructure and jobs in the southern provinces.
As ABC noted, the Commission’s proposal would explicitly label goods as originating in the Sahara.
Spanish unease
The initiative has stirred debate in Spain, where farm unions complain of “unfair competition” from Moroccan imports.
Tomato producers in particular say they have been squeezed by lower-cost exports, as Morocco overtook Spain in recent years to become the EU’s top tomato supplier.
But while Spain’s agricultural sector voices frustration, the broader EU calculus leans toward preserving stability with Rabat.
Spain itself, after years of official neutrality, shifted when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez endorsed Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara, a diplomatic realignment that underscored Madrid’s dependence on close ties with its southern neighbor.
A long legal dispute
The controversy stems from a series of court cases beginning in 2016, when the ECJ first ruled that EU–Morocco trade deals could not automatically extend to the Sahara without.
After attempts to patch the legal gap, including a 2019 amendment, the ECJ reaffirmed in 2024 that those measures fell short.
Still, the court left a narrow opening, suggesting that consent could be inferred if agreements conferred tangible benefits. The Commission’s new draft appears tailored to that exception, linking market access to EU-backed investments in the region.
For Morocco, the outcome matters both economically and politically. Agriculture is a pillar of exports and employment, and the Sahara has become a showcase of its modernization drive.
For the EU, ensuring continued supply of Moroccan produce supports food security while avoiding a rupture with one of its closest Mediterranean partners.
It must be approved by the Council, the proposal could face scrutiny in the European Parliament, while new legal challenges remain possible.
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