The European Union and Morocco have concluded a new agricultural agreement, just two days before the Court of Justice of the EU's (CJEU) appeal rulings take effect on October 4, 2024. The move represents a setback for the Polisario Front and its allies, particularly in Spain. It's now official: products from Western Sahara are included in the new trade agreement between Morocco and the European Union. This announcement was made on Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Rabat by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Living Abroad. «The agreement confirms the application of preferential tariffs granted by the EU under the Association Agreement with Morocco to the Southern Provinces», Nasser Bourita declared with satisfaction. «The market access conditions for products from the North will be applied to products from the Moroccan Sahara», he explained. However, the Moroccan foreign minister acknowledged that the agreement introduces technical adjustments concerning consumer information about product origins. Labels indicating the production regions in the South of the kingdom, Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, will be affixed to agricultural products. «The signing will take place imminently in Brussels» As a reminder, the European Commission had proposed to the EU member states the labeling of products from the Sahara, in line with a CJEU ruling on October 4, 2024. The proposal presented last July by Brussels included «provisions stipulating that imported agricultural products be labeled as originating from Western Sahara». Nasser Bourita revealed that «the signing of the new agreement will take place imminently in Brussels». Pending the completion of internal procedures, «the agreement will be provisionally applied upon its signing», he assured. «This agreement provides the necessary clarifications, respecting the national fundamentals of the Kingdom», he emphasized. It aligns with the continuity and «the philosophy of the letter exchange signed between the two parties in 2018», the minister added. Yesterday, Europa Press reported that the new agricultural agreement, on a provisional basis between Morocco and the European Union, integrating products from the Sahara, could come into force on Saturday, October 4. The news agency noted that «several diplomatic sources» stated that «the EU member states gave their agreement on Wednesday at the ambassador level to the European Commission's proposal to renew the agreement» with the kingdom. Representatives from EU member states reviewed the draft agreement between Rabat and Brussels that day. However, the new agricultural agreement between Morocco and the EU has sparked a wave of protest in Spain, among political parties and agricultural organizations affiliated with the Polisario. As of now, the Front has not yet expressed its position. Last week, the Trump administration officially encouraged American public and private companies to invest in the Sahara.
