The European Council, made up of heads of state and governments of the 27 European Union member states, reaffirmed during a summit in Brussels on Friday the “great value” the EU places on its strategic partnership with Morocco.
The Council also reiterated the importance of preserving and continuing to strengthen close relations with the Kingdom across all areas of the Morocco-EU partnership.
The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and Vice-President, Josep Borrell, earlier had reaffirmed in a joint statement the EU’s commitment to its “long-standing, wide-ranging, and deep” partnership with Morocco after the European Court of Justice issued a decision annulling the Morocco-EU agriculture and fisheries agreements.
“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.
The court’s ruling relates to the labeling of agricultural products and fisheries originating in the southern provinces of the Kingdom. It stems from a 2021 ruling by the CJEU in favor of the Polisario Front, which had claimed that the deal was concluded without the consent of the Sahrawi people.