On the Commission delegated regulation of 16 October 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 as regards origin labelling for fruit and… vegetables originating in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara

B100503/2025

European Parliament resolution on the Commission delegated regulation of 16 October 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 as regards origin labelling for fruit and vegetables originating in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara

(C(2025)06948 – 2025/2943(DEA))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2025)06948),

–having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and in particular Article 75(2), Article 76(4) and Article 89, point (a), thereof,

–having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429,

–having regard to the Court of Justice judgments of 4 October 2004 in Joined Cases C‑779/21 P and C‑799/21 P, and in Case C-399/22,

–having regard to the Council Decision (EU) 2025/2022,

–having regard to the Council Decision (EU) 2025/2023,

–having regard to Rule 114(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas Article 76(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides that products of the fruit and vegetables sector which are intended to be sold fresh to the consumer may only be marketed in the Union if the country of origin is indicated;

B.whereas Article 76(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts derogating from that rule to take into account certain specific situations;

C.whereas Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 supplements Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 by setting out the marketing standards for the fruit and vegetables sector, in particular, the rules on origin labelling which apply to those products;

D.whereas Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 provides for the compulsory indication of the country of origin also for certain dried fruits and ripened bananas;

E.whereas Article 1(3) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 provides that the country of origin of a product shall be determined in accordance with Article 60 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

F.whereas Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 provides that ‘origin’ is the full name or commonly used name of the country of origin; whereas just optionally, a district where grown or national, regional or local place name can be added;

G.whereas in its judgments in Cases C-104/16 P and C-266/16 the Court of Justice clarified that the territory of Western Sahara constitutes a non-self-governing territory distinct from that of the Kingdom of Morocco, and in its judgment in Case C-399/22 the Court of Justice further clarified that the territory of Western Sahara is to be regarded as a separate customs territory for the purposes of Article 60 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and, consequently, for the purposes of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 (replaced by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429);

H.whereas in its judgment in Case C-399/22 the Court of Justice clearly stated that the labelling of the goods harvested in Western Sahara must indicate Western Sahara alone as the country of origin of those goods;

I.whereas any other indication would be deceptive for the purposes of the case-law referred to in Case C-399/22, and could mislead consumers as to the true origin of the goods as it would be likely to suggest that those goods originate from a place other than the territory in which they were harvested;

J.whereas the new agreement in the form of an exchange of letters signed by the Kingdom of Morocco and the Union establishes that fruit and vegetables originating in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara that are subject to the control of Moroccan custom authorities shall indicate, as place of origin, the name of the region where the product was harvested as indicated in the certificate of origin accompanying those products at the moment of import in the Union;

K.whereas Decision 2/2025 of 3 October 2025 of the EU-Morocco Association Council set up by the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, on the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, on the other part, amending Protocol 4 of the Association Agreement concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation (‘Decision 2/2025’), lays down provisions regarding the applicability of Protocol 4 to products originating in Western Sahara;

L.whereas Decision 2/2025 specifies that the country, group of countries or territory in which the products are considered as originating is to be left blank with no reference whatsoever to Western Sahara; whereas the regions ‘Dakhla Oued Ed-Dahab’ and ‘Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra’ are to be entered under ‘Remarks’ in the certificate of origin;

M.whereas in order to implement the new agreement and Decision 2/2025, the Commission has been forced to derogate from Article 76(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and from Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 replacing the indication of the country of origin by the indication of the region in which the product originates as indicated in the certificate of origin accompanying those products at the moment of import in the Union;

N.whereas Union rules of origin and labelling standards should not be subject to modifications due to international agreements;

O.whereas the latest Eurobarometer on food safety showed that when buying food, geographical origin was the most important factor for 46 % of respondents, preceded only by cost (54 %) and taste (51 %);

1.Objects to the Commission delegated regulation;

2.Considers that the delegated regulation exceeds the implementing powers provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1308/2013;

3.Considers that the delegated regulation is not consistent with Union law in that it is incompatible with the aim of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2023/2429 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, which aims at empowering consumers to make informed food choices by, among others, the indication of the country of origin of fruit and vegetables;

4.Stresses that over 70 % of consumers in the Union base their purchasing decisions on the information on packaging and draws attention to the real risk of consumers being misled;

5.Considers that it is necessary to guarantee the origin and traceability of fruit and vegetables in the single market through clear rules in order to protect the integrity of Union food systems and to reinforce consumer information and awareness;

6.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated regulation cannot enter into force;

7.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.