Activities of Maria Lidia SENRA RODRÍGUEZ related to 2018/0256M(NLE)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a Council decision on the agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part
Amendments (11)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises that the preferential treatment granted for certain Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports to the EU under the agreement of 8 March 2012 concerning reciprocal liberalisation measures on agricultural products, processed agricultural products, fish and fishery products – all the more so in the absence of adequate traceability – is a particularly sensitive matter for Europe’s horticulture industry, especially in southern Europe;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Warns of the environmental risks, for example for water resources, entailed by intensive, uncontrolled and export- oriented development of agricultural production in Western Sahara, as highlighted by the European Commission;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that most of the concerns expressed in that opinion are, from the point of view of the European horticulture industry, still relevant today, in what is a difficult and volatile period for the industry, in particular as a result of the continued use of European agriculture as a bartering chip in international trade relations and the ongoing Russian embargo;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Regrets the legal uncertainty that has arisen since the Court of Justice judgment of 21 December 2016; is concerned that the Commission has been unable toiterates that the Court of Justice judgment of 21 December 2016 provides that the agreements between the European Union and Morocco are not applicable to Western Sahara, recognising the latter as a different and separate territory from Morocco to which it is not linked through any tie of sovereignty; is concerned that, in spite of the judgment in question, the Commission insists on disregarding it and is not ready to comply with it or provide reliable data on preferential imports of products from Western Sahara that may have been carried out since that date, in spite of the judgment in question; wonders what the cost has been to the EU budget of any preferences granted during the period concerned without a valid legal basis; in the absence of sufficient comparative information, is doubtful whether the Commission is able to assess the impact of the proposed new agreement properly;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the European Commission to open negotiations with the Polisario Front whenever it wishes an agreement to be applicable to Western Sahara;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Reiterates that this new agreement between the Union and Morocco is illegal insofar as it includes products from Western Sahara, and highlights the concerns that some Member States, social organisations, the Polisario Front and the Legal Service of the European Parliament have expressed in terms of its legal and political repercussions for the exercising of the right to self-determination by Western Sahara;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Expresses its deep concern about the inadequate consultation procedure carried out by the European Commission which does not allow for the free and informed consent of the Sahrawi people, especially since the Polisario Front and other Sahrawi organisations have not been properly involved in the process;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Recalls that the Polisario Front, as recognised by the United Nations, is the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people and that the conclusion of an agreement without their consent constitutes an infringement of the rights of the peoples of non-autonomous territories whose interests must be paramount, as laid down in Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Emphasises that the majority of Sahrawis will not benefit economically or in any other manner from this agreement and condemns the fact that the 173 000 Sahrawi refugees living in the Tindouf refugee camps have not been consulted on it and will not benefit from it;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10