EU-Morocco Agreement: MEPs Condemn European Commission’s Breach of CJEU Ruling

Several Members of the European Parliament have condemned the European Commission’s recent decision to extend the EU-Morocco trade agreement to include products from the Sahrawi territories just before its expiration, in clear violation of a Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling that requires prior consent from the Sahrawi people, according to the European news website Euractiv.

In an article by journalist Jeremias Lindu, Euractiv reported the outrage of several MEPs, including Bernd Lange, head of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, who described the decision as “scandalous” and “surprising.” “While we had just strengthened our cooperation framework with the Commission to prevent such situations, they did the exact opposite,” Lange protested, arguing that the decision violates a recently updated interinstitutional agreement designed to “ensure that no provisional application can occur without Parliament’s consent.” “Once an agreement is concluded, it must be respected,” he stated.

Also cited by Euractiv, Spanish MEP Vicent Marza (Greens/EFA), a member of the delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries (DMAG), expressed similar frustration, accusing the Commission of keeping parliamentarians “in the dark” and demonstrating “an unprecedented level of opacity.” Euractiv reports that the revised trade agreement between the EU and Morocco covers agricultural and fishery products, including those originating from Western Sahara, at preferential tariff rates.