Spain’s Secretary General for the European Union at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Moreno, defended the new EU-Morocco agreement on Tuesday, saying the consent of the Sahrawi people “can be understood as implicit,” according to Spanish news outlet La Vanguardia.
Moreno stressed that “consent does not need to be explicit, according to EU Court jurisprudence, as long as such implicit consent does not create obligations” and also “provides a specific, concrete, substantial, and verifiable benefit to the people of the South.”
He defended the agreement, signed on October 3, saying “it meets the requirements of the ruling, regardless of sovereignty or international law issues.”
The Spanish Secretary General also explained that the new deal includes separate labeling for products from the Sahara, which will not be labeled as Moroccan but instead will specify the region of origin, distinguishing between Dakhla and Laayoune.
These remarks came in response to a question from Milagros Marcos, a deputy from Spain’s Popular Party (PP), who asked the Secretary General to clarify the Spanish government’s position on the new EU-Morocco deal.
Marcos criticized the government, claiming it favored Morocco’s interests over the rights of the people in the southern provinces.
She denounced “the deal for being rushed through in just five days, without public debate, transparency, or any assessment of its impact, and without any democratic oversight.”
Yet, Fruit and vegetable producers in southern Morocco previously welcomed the signing of amended trade letters between Morocco and the European Union, saying “the move strengthens both agricultural investment in the region and the country’s territorial integrity.”
The agreement, signed at the European Commission in Brussels, grants farm products from Morocco’s southern provinces the same preferential access to European markets as goods from other regions of the country.
It also introduces labeling requirements that clearly indicate the origin of products from Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab.
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