The EU parliament adopted on Wednesday the new agriculture agreement between Morocco and the EU.
The agreement was approved with an absolute majority of votes.
It states that the privileges granted to Moroccan products entering European markets will also be given, without discrimination and under the same conditions, to products coming from the country’s Sahara provinces.
The agreement on the liberalization of trade in raw and processed agricultural products, fish and marine products from Morocco got the initial support of 444 lawmakers against 167, with 68 abstentions.
The Parliament also voted against a proposal calling for presenting the agricultural agreement to the European Court of Justice.
The vote on this matter ended with 210 in favor, 414 against and 48 abstentions.
As for another resolution on the mandatory nature of the agreement, it received 442 votes in favor and 172 against, while 65 abstained from voting.
This vote represented a severe blow to the advocates of the secession of the Saharan provinces from Morocco.
It also closed the door against any confusion from the previous agreement, when the Polisario Front challenged the legality of its application to the Sahrawi provinces before the European Court of Justice.
Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement to express satisfaction with the agreements linking Morocco and the European Union.
The Ministry said that the agreements signed between the EU and Morocco confirm “that any agreement covering the Moroccan Sahara can only be negotiated and signed by the Kingdom of Morocco in the exercise of its full sovereignty over this part of its territory.”
Commenting on the adoption of the agriculture agreement, the Ministry said that the vote “by an absolute majority marks the culmination of a long process of technical negotiations, political consultations and legal validations between Morocco and the EU.”
Its statement added that throughout the process of negotiations, Morocco was firm on three principles: The non-negotiable defense of its territorial integrity and the fundamentals of its position with regard to the Moroccan Sahara, the preservation of its economic interests in an important sector with a privileged business partner and its sincere commitment to the multidimensional and profound partnership with the EU.
