EU court advocate demands labeling of melons and tomatoes from the Sahara

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) has weighed in on the labeling of agricultural products from the Sahara. In an opinion delivered on March 21st, Croatian judge Tamara Capeta stated that «melons and tomatoes from Western Sahara must be labeled with a 'country of origin' indication reflecting their provenance from this territory. These products cannot indicate Morocco as the 'country of origin’».

Capeta's opinion follows a complaint filed by the French agricultural union Confédération Paysanne against the French government. She explained that «the absence of mention of the territory of Western Sahara as the country of origin of melons and tomatoes can be misleading consumers in the Union in their purchasing decisions».

However, Capeta emphasized that «the rules of the (European) Union do not allow the French authorities to introduce a unilateral ban on imports on the sole ground that melons and tomatoes originating in the territory of Western Sahara are not correctly labelled as to their country of origin».

The French Council of State (Conseil d'Etat) had previously deferred its decision on the union's petition for a ban on Sahrawi products, awaiting clarification from the CJEU on labeling regulations.