This Tuesday, 13 September, the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU is expected to present his conclusions on the appeal of the EU Council against the Court's ruling of 10 December, which partially annulled the Agricultural Agreement with Morocco on the grounds that it also applied to the territories of Western Sahara.
The fruit and vegetable sector, represented by FEPEX, is looking forward to the report (the last step before the final verdict, scheduled for the end of the year) as it could have great significance for the Community market. This is because of the strong growth observed in the productions of Western Sahara, which overlap with the Spanish campaign and which are benefiting from the advantages of the Association Agreement between the EU and Morocco.
The Court of Justice of the EU issued a ruling on 10 December 2015 annulling part of the Association Agreement between the EU and Morocco because, according to the Court, the agreement involved the territories of Western Sahara. The Court thus accepted the arguments of the Polisario Front, which stands against Morocco's authority in these territories.
Given this situation, the EU Council agreed to submit an appeal, with the process started on 19 July. At that first meeting, lawyers from France, Spain and Portugal also became involved to give support to the Council, and therefore to disagree with the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU, since they are in favour of keeping the agreement between the Commission and Morocco under the current conditions.
Source: fepex.es