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Morocco agriculture agreement faces opposition in European Parliament

06 September 2011

In July 2011 the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament voted to reject ‘the agreement for the liberalisation of trade in agricultural and fishery products between Europe and Morocco’. The report approved by the Agriculture Committee expressed ‘special concern about the capacity of the Community to monitor and enforce deadlines and quotas’. EU producers’ organisations regularly complain about the breach of seasonal marketing calendars by Moroccan exporters.

According to press reports, the EP Agriculture Committee took the view that given the ‘serious crisis affecting the market for fruit and vegetables, even a modest volume of products from non-EU countries could represent a new element of instability’. It further argued that ‘the high standards of EU environmental protection, worker conditions, union protection, anti-dumping legislation and food safety are not reflected in products imported from Morocco.’

The press analysis notes that the stance adopted by the Agriculture Committee will be included in the final report which will be prepared by the International Trade Committee. This report will then be tabled before the plenary of the EP for a final decision. 

Editorial comment

Under the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament has to approve any trade agreement before it can enter into full effect (it may be provisionally applied while the ratification process is under way). Against this background, European fruit and vegetable producers’ organisations are likely to attach considerable importance to the vote in the EP Agriculture Committee. The vote is indicative of mounting pressure on the EC to more clearly and firmly incorporate respect for various production standards into future trade agreements. This potentially would carry important implications for a range of ACP food and agricultural exporters, from beef to horticultural exporters.

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