European organisations representing fruit and vegetable producers – COPA and COGECA, AREFLH and EUCOFEL sound the alarm over the European Commission’s proposed revision of the EU–Morocco Association Agreement, along with a new delegated act on origin labelling, which threaten to undermine European producers, breach key EU legal principles, and mislead consumers. In a joint letter to the European Parliament, the organisations denounce the proposal as a direct violation of EU law and values.
The proposal extends preferential tariffs to products from Western Sahara and allows origin labels using regional names instead of “Western Sahara,” despite a clear Court of Justice ruling requiring explicit labelling. The sector warns this is a legal workaround that misleads consumers, ignores EU jurisprudence, and creates a precedent for hiding product origin.
Producer’s organisations highlight several risks with this revision. First, this agreement exposes European producers to unfair competition from Western Saharan products grown under lower social and environmental standards.
Second, at a time when EU fruit and vegetable growers are already facing intense market pressure from rising imports, the revision risks further displacing European production, exacerbating economic strain on farms across the Union.
The proposed revision would also lead to the loss of consumer trust due to lack of transparent origin-masking labels, eroding trust in EU labelling standards.
Moreover, the agreement delegates critical control to Moroccan authorities for issuing conformity certificates, weakening EU oversight and raising serious concerns about compliance with European standards.
Finally, despite years of calls from the sector for reciprocity, mirror clauses, and robust safeguard mechanisms, the Commission has failed to reform the agreement and to address these long-standing demands, leaving EU producers vulnerable to distorted competition and market instability.
As a result, European producers now call on Members of the European Parliament to support the objection of the delegated act on origin labelling for fruit and vegetables from Western Sahara put for vote in the Plenary this week, stressing the need for a full, balanced renegotiation of the agreement to ensure protection of EU farmers, implementing effective safeguards and ensuring the respect of EU and international law.
“European producers cannot be asked to compete in a system that hides origins, weakens standards, and disregards the Court’s rulings,” the organisations state in their letter.
Fonte: Copa Cogeca
