MEPs vote in favor of Morocco using other names in the labeling of origin for products from Western Sahara

Morocco will be able to label fruits and vegetables from the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara alluding to the name of the Moroccan regions in which this territory is locatedstill pending a self-determination referendum after a chaotic decolonization by Spain. It has done so by a single vote, since the proposal of the European People’s Party (EPP) to reject this change in the Association Agreement – negotiated between the European Commission and the Moroccan government – has not achieved the necessary votes to move forward. It needed the affirmative vote of 360 MEPs (half plus one since there are currently a total of 719 MEPs) and they have remained at 359 against 188 votes against and 76 abstentions. Specifically, the fruits and vegetables originating from the former colony will bear the name of the regions of Laayoune – Saguia – Hamra and of Dakhla – River of Goldreports EFE. Something that from the sector and a part of the majority of MEPs goes against the European regulation on designations of origin and labeling.

From the European PP the reaction has been overwhelming. The MEP and president of the Fisheries Committee in the European Parliament (EP), Carmen Crespo, has regretted that its proposal to stop this change in the Association Agreement has not gone ahead. “This initiative has not been supported by the Spanish socialists and in the end it has not moved forward,” said the former Andalusian Minister of Agriculture. What she did not hesitate to call “disloyalty to our agricultural sector.” Crespo has charged against the Government and the MEPs who support him because “they turn their backs on Spanish farmers.” thinking more about their political and partisan interests than about the agricultural sector. An activity that, Crespo has pointed out, has been suffering from unfair competition for many years. “Imports from Morocco have led Spanish farmers to lose more than 50% of market share,” he concluded.

“A dangerous precedent”

In the motion presented by the European PP it is argued that the European Commission’s proposal “does not ensure that fruits and vegetables originating in Western Sahara are clearly identified with their true country of origin, allowing ambiguous labeling that is contrary to European Union legislation on consumer information.” In addition, the popular ones added, allowing regions to appear before countries on labeling “creates a dangerous precedent which would leave consumers and farmers in the European Union unprotected in the future” and warned against “ambiguous regional references that suggest a Moroccan origin.” Along these lines, the proponents also maintained that this “lack of an explicit, precise and verifiable reference of origin could facilitate unfair trade practices, as well as damage trust between consumers and operators weakening traceability and legal certainty on the Union market.”

The proposal breaks the left-right division

The popular group together with Patriots for Europe have raised the rejection of this measure, although the division has crossed both political families and the rejection has had the support of some forces on the left. In favor of rejecting this change in the Association Agreement, agencies such as EFE report, they have positioned themselves 65 popular MEPs (including those from the Popular Party), 67 against and 38 have abstained. Within Patriots for Europe the vote has also been distributed, sOnly 13 euro-deputies voted in favor by 56 parliamentarians against, including the 6 owned by Vox. The liberals have also been divided, with the PNV supporting the proposal. Instead, the majority of social democratic MEPs They have voted in favor of preventing this change together with the Greens (ERC, BNG, Comunes and Compromís included) and the group called La Izquierda, which has representatives from Podemos and Sumar in its ranks. In addition to the bulk of other conservative groups.

The division has also reached PSOEsince despite breaking the majority guideline within the group of European socialists, its 20 MEPs have not voted together. Nine have opposed the proposal of the popular and endorsed the change negotiated with Morocco while another MEP has voted in favor although socialist sources speak of an error and four other parliamentarians have not cast any votes, despite having participated in the session.