The European Union (EU) reaffirmed its commitment to its “long-standing, wide-ranging, and deep” partnership with Morocco, according to a joint statement by the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and Vice-President, Josep Borrell, issued following the European Court of Justice ruling on the agriculture and fisheries agreement.
The ruling relates to the labeling of agricultural products and fisheries from the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom. The court’s decision stems from a 2021 ruling by the CJEU in favor of the Polisario Front, a separatist group seeking independence for the Moroccan Sahara region, which claims that the deal was concluded without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
EU top officials are committed to enhancing “close relations” with Morocco across all sectors of the Morocco-EU Partnership.
“The European Commission is currently analyzing the judgments in detail. In this context, we take note that the European Court of Justice preserves the validity of the agreement on agricultural products for an additional 12 months,” the statement read.