The European Commission’s controversial new agreement of association with Morocco could be put before the European Court of Justice, after a leading MEP questioned its legality.
In an apparent final debate between those in favour and against the trade deal, Green MEP José Bové called the proposal illegal, claiming that it did “not agree with international treaties or law”, reported Spanish daily La Voz de Almería.
Responding to a claim from Commission officials that the accord would help small growers in Morocco, Bové argued that “three companies control 70 per cent of Moroccan exports, two of which are European-funded, which contradicts the idea that the treaty would benefit small producers”.
The MEP and his supporters are now seeking the 75 signatures necessary from other Euro-deputies to place the agreement before the European Court of Justice for scrutiny, a step anti-deal campaigner Andrés Góngora of COAG is confident of achieving.
“It will not be difficult to get the support of 75 MEPs, around 10 per cent of the Parliament, to bring the agreement before the Court of Justice, which could paralyse the (ratification) of the deal with Morocco for a number of years,” he told the publication.
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