The Fresh Plaza
The European Commission’s European External Action Service has proposed to find a legal basis to include Western Sahara in the EU Agreement with Morocco, which for FEPEX would entail formalising the agricultural concessions to this territory.
This proposal was made on Tuesday before the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture, given the EU Court of Justice’s ruling in December, which considered the Agreement with Morocco not to be applicable to the Sahara.
The representative of the European External Action Service (SEAE), Vincent Piket, mentioned the need to respect international law and comply with the ruling of the EU Court of Justice; however, he stated that “the consequence of the ruling is not the export ban on goods from Western Sahara, but the lack of a legal basis for the application of reduced tariffs to products from the Sahara.” Consequently, the European External Action Service has proposed to find a “legally sound solution, such as the inclusion in the Liberalization Agreement of a geographical coverage extension in order to include Western Sahara.”
He explained that the solution requires an urgent and close collaboration with Morocco in both political and technical fields, and in this sense, he reported that there have already been talks with Morocco, the first in mid-February and the second on 1 March. When these talks have ensured a solid technical basis, the representative of the EEAS explained that a negotiating mandate would be requested from the Council for the legal adaptation of the Agreement.
EU fruit and vegetable imports from Morocco have been showing a positive development. Between 2010 and 2015, imports grew from 856,919 tonnes to 1.04 million tonnes; a 22% growth. In the same period, the value of these shipments increased by 53%, reaching 1,263 million Euro, according to Eurostat. Spanish imports from Morocco have also grown strongly in recent years. Between 2010 and 2015 they have grown by 69%, totalling 242,173 tonnes. For FEPEX, the strong growth of fruit and vegetable imports from Morocco constitutes a major threat to the Spanish sector, given the considerable overlap in products and seasons and the expansion strategies of Moroccan horticultural crops.
Publication date: 3/3/2017
