Spanish Associations Denounce EU’s Breach of ICJ Rulings on Western Sahara
The Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, and Live Plants (FEPEX) denounced the European Union’s violation of the rulings of the European Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the labelling of products from occupied Western Sahara, urging the European Parliament to reject the “provisional” agreement.
In a statement, the Spanish associations condemned the EU’s amendment to labeling rules for fruits and vegetables from Western Sahara, which permits products to avoid explicitly stating their origin and instead use Moroccan designations. This contradicts European legislation and the October 4, 2024, ruling by the EU Court of Justice.
FEPEX underlined the decision recently published in the official journal of the European Union, issued by the EU-Morocco partnership council on 3 October 2025, which amends protocol 4 of the partnership agreement between the two sides, directly impacting the labelling of agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) coming from Western Sahara.
It emphasized that this temporarily-operational decision enables the use of Moroccan designated labels “Dakhla Oued Ed-Dahab” and “Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra” instead of the explicit mention of Western Sahara. It also creates confusion among European customers about the true origin of the products.
It further said that this amendment contradicts a European Court of Justice ruling, that recognizes Western Sahara as a separate “customs territory” from Morocco.
The Spanish associations also stressed that the labelling of products such as cherry tomatoes harvested in that territory must indicate only “Western Sahara” as the country of origin.
The Spanish Federation warned about the repercussions of this decision that harms the European consumer, through complicating the identification of the products’ true origin, as well as distorting competition rules within the European Market.
It urged the European Parliament not to ratify the agreement, citing potential negative impacts on the EU’s fruit and vegetable sector.
