Late last year, the European Court issued a ruling which had major implications for the EU's trade policy. The agreement with Morocco came into question, the Moroccan government reacted furiously and the EU was at its wits’ end. Cause: the conflict regarding the independence of Western Sahara. A conflict that could also affect the import of fresh produce.
The history of Western Sahara is fairly complex. Although the Spaniards colonised part of the Sahara, it’s the decades old claim of Morocco on Western Sahara which forms the core of the conflict. In 1957, the Moroccan government claimed authority of then-Spanish Sahara, a year after the country became independent. In 1965, the UN stated that Spain had to decolonise the area.
Independent or not?
That process of decolonisation has been going on for several decades now. The result is that the colony is divided over Mauritania and Morocco. The local population prefers independence and is taking up arms. During the mid-1970s, the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was proclaimed. The government in exile operates from neighbouring country Algeria. In the early 90s, the conflict was ended by the UN with a cease-fire and the promise that a referendum will be held on the independence of Western Sahara. The referendum was never organised. Mauritania retreated from the desert country.
It's still that old question that lies at the basis of the debate within Europe. Is Western Sahara part of Morocco or not? In the trade agreement that the EU entered into with Morocco in 2000, the distinction is not made. In negotiations that followed to extend the treaty, the distinction remains vague. In practice, this means that products from the disputed area can be traded as Moroccan. But there is resistance. The Polisario Front, the independence movement of Western Sahara, summonsed the EU to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and last December, the ruling was pronounced. The court ruled that Western Sahara cannot be treated as part of Morocco. Therefore, the trade agreements entered into by the EU and Morocco would not apply to Western Sahara. This is a victory for the parties in favour of an independent Western Sahara, but a setback for Morocco and the EU.
Court ruling
Tensions between Morocco and the EU mounted for a while. Rabat warned Brussels that striking the negotiations would hurt the relationship. The North African country would have felt forced to look at other countries for trade negotiations. Besides, Morocco threatened there could be consequences for migration flows, an important dossier for both countries. However, the EU let it be known that negotiations will continue. “Fitting measures should be taken if necessary to safeguard the implementation of the free trade agreement for processed agricultural products and fish between the EU and Morocco,” according to the EU in a statement.
Tomatoes from Morocco or Western Sahara?
What is the link to the fresh produce sector? The trade treaty between Morocco and the EU also applies to the fruit and vegetable sector. Although most accusations are expressed against Moroccan fisheries, which are supposedly illegally fishing in the waters off Western Sahara, fresh produce isn’t completely unaffected. According to Western Sahara Resource Watch, a proponent of an independent Western Sahara, Morocco is also investing in the horticulture in the region. In 2011, the organisation published an article that the investments in the Dakhla region were increasing. Supposedly, hundreds of hectares would be devoted to horticulture. However, according to the organisation, the local population barely profits from these investments.
A year later, just before a new trade agreement was due to come into effect between Morocco and the EU, the organisation published a report in which strong criticism is voiced. The organisation described eleven companies in Dakhla. These companies were either owned by major French multinationals, or they could be linked to the Moroccan royal family. The report concludes that 60,000 tonnes of agricultural products were shipped to Europe by the eleven companies in 2016. The lion’s share of that consisted of tomatoes. The products were labelled as Moroccan.
It’s still unclear which line the EU will choose to deal with the ECJ’s ruling and its relationship with Morocco. Comparable dossiers exist in which the EU takes up two standpoints. On the one hand, there’s the dossier about the Jewish settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan. The EU posits that products from those communities cannot be labelled as Israeli. According to the EU, that way of labelling is necessary to clearly inform consumers. On the other hand, there is the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the Cyprus conflict, for which the EU has no guidelines regarding the labelling of products.