Dutch government favours EU measure for Western Saharan tomatoes
Article image
The Dutch government has asked the European Commission to provide clarifications on its imports of tomatoes from Western Sahara, says the Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister.
Published 15 January 2014


In his reply to parliamentary questions on 17 December 2013, Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans stated that the Dutch Government would support an EU-wide approach with regard to the labeling of products from Western Sahara, rather than introducing a certificate of origin by itself.

"The Dutch government attaches great importance to the origin of products", the Minister said. Consequently, "the Netherlands have insisted that the European Commission ought to provide more clarity on the origin of products from Western Sahara, so that consumers could be informed correctly. But the European Commission has so far not taken any initiatives on the matter".

Timmermans is convinced that parallels can be drawn between the cases of imports from the Palestinian territory and Western Sahara, but believes that the lack of consensus on imports from the latter can be attributed to the limited attention that the conflict garners.

label_and_liability_cover_300.jpgIn August 2012, the Dutch government was the first EU government to state that Western Sahara produce should not benefit from the tariff schemes granted to Morocco. The statement was the result of parliamentary questions based on Western Sahara Resource Watch's report 'Label and Liability', which documents how tomatoes produced in occupied Western Sahara find their way to EU supermarkets stamped as from Morocco.

Months later, the Swedish government expressed a similar position.

No state in the world recognises the Moroccan claims over the territory of Western Sahara.


EU pushes secretive Morocco trade deal covering Western Sahara

As EU ambassadors give their green light to a new Morocco trade deal, the public is still denied access to the very agreement they are voting on - a striking case of secrecy in Brussels.

01 October 2025

"A declaration of war" - new EU agreement reactions

A wave of reactions is rippling across Europe following the news that the EU is moving ahead with a new trade agreement in occupied Western Sahara. The vote is scheduled for tomorrow.

30 September 2025

Commission Pushes EU-Morocco Trade Deal, Ignoring Democratic Processes and Saharawi Rights

WSRW can today reveal a leaked EU document showing plans to continue trading with products from occupied Western Sahara, in direct violation of earlier rulings by the EU Court of Justice. A vote will take place this Wednesday. 

29 September 2025

Morocco’s thirst for water quenched by Western Sahara winds

Water pouring out of Moroccan faucets is soon powered by energy stolen from occupied Western Sahara.

18 September 2025