Source: European Parliament
As underlined in the Joint Statement by the President of the Commission and the former High Representative/Vice-President on 4 October 2024[1], the EU reiterates the high value it attaches to its strategic partnership with Morocco, which is long-standing, wide-ranging and deep.
Over the years, the EU has established a profound friendship and a solid and multi-faceted cooperation, which it intends to continue strengthening.
The EU takes note of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s judgments joined cases C-778/21 P and C-798/21 P[2], and joined cases C-779/21 P and C-799/21[3] on the appeals against the judgment of the General Court of 29 September 2021 as well as the reply to the preliminary ruling request in Case C-399/22[4] on the labelling of fruit and vegetables from the territory of the Western Sahara.
The Commission is currently analysing the judgments in detail. In this context, the Commission takes note that the European Court of Justice preserves the validity of the agreement on agricultural products for an additional 12 months.
The Commission is not in a position to provide details of companies involved in economic activity under the agreements in question, as it does not hold such information.
With regard to the Honourable Member’s second question, the Commission would like to inform that tariff duties are never paid to exporting countries.
- [1] https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/morocco-joint-statement-president-von-der-leyen-and-high-representativevice-president-borrell_en
- [2] Judgment of 4 October 2024, Commission and Council of the European Union v Front populaire pour la libération de la Saguia el-Hamra et du Rio de oro (Front Polisario), joined cases C-778/21 P and C-798/21 P, EU:C:2024:833.
- [3] Judgment of 4 October 2024, Commission and Council of the European Union v Front populaire pour la libération de la Saguia el-Hamra et du Rio de oro (Front Polisario), joined cases C-779/21 P and C-799/21 P, EU:C:2024:835.
- [4] Judgment of 4 October 2024, Confédération paysanne v Ministre de l’Agriculture et de la Souveraineté alimentaire and Ministre de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique, C-399/22, EU:C:2024:839.