Brussels, 09/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - With the European Parliament (EP) due to vote on the draft EU-Morocco trade liberalisation agreement on 16 February, COPA-COGECA (agricultural unions and cooperatives in the EU) urged MEPs on Wednesday 8 February to “properly assess the socio-economic impact of the deal”, warning it will have “a disastrous impact on the EU fruit and vegetables sector, especially tomatoes”.
COPA-COGECA General Secretary Pekka Pesonen warned in a letter to the leaders of the EP political groups that the agreement would threaten thousands of jobs in EU rural areas which have already been badly hit during the severe economic crisis. “Imports from Morocco also do not have to meet the EU's high environmental and quality standards”, he added.
COPA-COGECA says that “if this agreement goes ahead, it would result in a huge increase in these imports. There would be introduction of significantly increased import quotas compared to the previous agreement, for six sensitive products: tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, garlic, citrus fruits and strawberries. This would dramatically increase the positive trade balance already in Morocco's favour and have a disastrous impact on employment in EU rural areas where often there is no alternative source of employment”.
“MEPs cannot ignore this situation. Before considering an increase in quotas, there should have been a proper socio-economic impact assessment. The EU entry price system for these imports also does not take into account the higher production and labour costs prevailing in the EU. Furthermore, the EU system of controls and safeguards for imports from Morocco is ineffective which has been demonstrated in a report by the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF)”, the organisation goes on to say.
COPA-COGECA is calling for MEPs' support on these issues in order to improve the situation. It urges MEPs, therefore, to “examine the situation and ensure that our concerns our taken into account when voting on the draft agreement next week”.
MEP José Bové (Greens/EFA, France), speaking in Madrid on Tuesday 7 February, argued he was right to oppose this agricultural agreement between the EU and Morocco. At a press conference at which representatives of French and Spanish agricultural organisations and Spanish politicians took part, he warned of “the dramatic consequences for European fruit and vegetable producers” and urged MEPs to vote the agreement down. In a rare display of unity, MEPs belonging to the two main political parties in Spain, the governing People's Party and the Socialist Party, will vote against the agreement in the EP, as Spain fears being flooded with low cost produce and becoming less competitive in the European market. Bové stated that, in Spain, hundreds of thousands of families were at risk. Spain has record unemployment of 22.85% and, in Andalusia, one of the regions most threatened by the agreement, unemployment stands at over 30%, Bové said. This agreement, he argued, would “not benefit the majority of Morocco's small and medium-sized producers” but would ensure that “only the country's large export firms gain”. He also hit out at working conditions in Morocco: “virtual slavery as workers do not have the right to join trade unions”, which means that wages come in at around €5 per day. He expressed concern, too, at “production methods” which use more water in Morocco than in the EU, and at the “legal issue” of the disputed Western Sahara region, which forms part of the draft agreement between the EU and Morocco. If the agreement is passed in Strasbourg, opponents could “refer it to the European Court of Justice to have it annulled because it has no legal basis”, Bové stated. (LC/transl.rt)