Spanish MEPs have started the new parliamentary year by addressing a Court of Justice of the European Union's ruling on the Sahara. They slammed a «new maritime route», launched by French container transportation company CMA, meant to link Dakhla to Algeciras. For the moment, the European Parliament is organizing public hearings to evaluate the candidates proposed in July by heads of state to hold senior positions within the European Union. On Tuesday, French lawyer Christine Lagarde obtained the European Parliament's approval to be the European Central Bank's next president in a plenary vote. The European Parliament postponed oral questions to a later date. Despite the busy schedule, Spanish MEPs from Unidas Podemos launched a campaign against agricultural products coming from Morocco. The MEPs referred to a three-year-old ruling pronounced by the Court of Justice of the European Union on including the Sahara in the agricultural and fisheries agreements concluded with the European Union. Unidas-Podemos slams French container transportation company CMA In a written message addressed to the European Commission, far-left Spanish MPs warned against the rise of «fraudulent exports» that involve Morocco and the European market. In fact, they claim that exporting Sahara products to the European Union «violates» the decision of the European court, issued in December 2016, explaining that the later has excluded the territory from all trade agreements concluded with Morocco. To back their stand, MEPs from Unidas-Podemos said that French container transportation company CMA has launched a new trade route, linking the port of Dakhla to that of Algeciras in Spain. Hence, they urged Brussels to «review the entry of these products» that come from the territory «through this new route to ensure that it respects» CJEU's ruling and label all agricultural products originating from the Sahara. In their letter, they stressed that common interests between Morocco and the European Commission should not violate the decision of the European court. For the record, in a plenary session, the European Parliament adopted, in January, amendments related to the Association Agreement signed between Morocco and the European Union. Through this letter, Spanish MEPs support the demands of Spanish agricultural associations. In January, Spanish fruit and vegetable producer organizations declared that products originating from Western Sahara must be labeled.
