Madrid (Spain), 17 December 2025 (SPS) – The Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables (FEPEX) warned once again on Tuesday of the repercussions of the latest trade agreement between the European Union and Morocco, which includes products originating from the occupied Western Sahara.
It called on the European Parliament not to vote in favor of this agreement, which violates rulings of the European Court of Justice and harms the European agricultural sector.
According to a statement by the Tomato Sector Committee of the Spanish federation, this new agreement, which has entered into force on a provisional basis, goes beyond the ruling of the European Court of Justice of 4 October 2024, which confirmed that the partnership agreement between the European Commission and Morocco, as it relates to products originating from Western Sahara, is illegal because it was signed without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
In this regard, the committee stressed that the agreement signed between the two sides on 2 October lacks the condition of the Sahrawi people’s consent, after the European Court acknowledged that Western Sahara and Morocco are “separate and distinct territories.”
In the same context, FEPEX denounced the approval on 26 November of the amendment proposed by the European Commission to Regulation 2023/2429 on fruit and vegetable marketing standards. This amendment would allow products originating from Western Sahara to be marketed in the European Union under the regional names “Dakhla–Oued Eddahab” and “Aaiun–Saguia El Hamra” instead of “Western Sahara,” contrary to the ruling of the European Court of Justice and to European rules requiring labeling to include the country of origin.
The committee pointed out that, in addition to violating judicial rulings, this agreement would expose the EU tomato sector to unfair competition from products originating in Western Sahara, as Morocco would benefit from unprecedented European funding in vital sectors such as water (including irrigation), energy, and desalination—at the expense of Spanish and European producers.
This is an unprecedented situation, the committee added, as it amends a European rule that all operators within the EU must comply with in favor of products from a third country. This would harm European consumers, who would not receive clear labeling, and damage the Spanish sector, which would be forced to compete with products that are deliberately ambiguously identified.
Accordingly, the Spanish federation stressed that it is essential for the European Parliament not to ratify, in the coming months, the agreement signed between the European Commission and Morocco on 2 October, out of respect for court rulings and in order to safeguard the interests of European farmers.
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