A new trade agreement between Morocco and the European Union is already facing resistance.
European lawmakers allied with the Polisario Front say the deal, which includes products from the Moroccan Sahara, violates court rulings and ignores the issue of self-determination.
Spanish left-wing MP Isabel Serra Sanchez from Podemos raised the alarm in the European Parliament on Tuesday.
Sanchez asked the European Commission why it rushed through the agreement in only five days and why it was applied provisionally without approval from parliament.
She also questioned the claim that 49000 Sahrawis found jobs under a previous deal with Morocco, calling for evidence on who really benefited.
Serra claimed that the Commission was undermining ten consecutive rulings from the European Court of Justice, which excluded the Moroccan Sahara from Morocco’s trade agreements. She alleged that the process lacked transparency and credibility.
Backing her position, fellow Spanish MP Tesh Sidi, a member of the ruling Sumar coalition and of Sahrawi origin, accused Spain and the EU of defending Morocco’s interests.
Sidi urged Madrid to instead negotiate directly with the Polisario for a fishing deal.
The criticism spread beyond parliament. Spain’s Young Farmers Association (ASAJA) warned the agreement would harm Spanish producers, especially tomato and melon growers.
In a statement, the group said the EU was allegedly bypassing legal safeguards to quietly integrate the Moroccan Sahara products into the Morocco deal.
The group urged member states to reject the agreement and cited a European Court ruling requiring these products to be labeled as Sahrawi.
The new agreement between Morocco and the EU is meant to update previous trade deals that expired after court challenges.
It extends tariff preferences to farm and fishery products coming from the Moroccan Sahara, treating them as Moroccan goods for export to Europe.
Supporters in Brussels say the deal is necessary to secure supply chains and protect the EU’s access to Moroccan agricultural products.
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.