Mustapha Baitas, the Moroccan government spokesperson, said Thursday during a press briefing that the free trade agreement governing access of Moroccan agricultural products to European countries is «general and comprehensive, not selective». He explained in response to a question about recent interceptions of Moroccan trucks by protesting farmers in Europe that all details related to export, including materials and quantities, were negotiated during the agreement's discussion. Baitas pointed out that the government has activated diplomatic channels to protect access for Moroccan agricultural products to the European Union. In recent weeks, Spanish farmers have targeted trucks transporting Moroccan fruits and vegetables to European markets, with five trucks vandalized in Catalonia on February 27. The farmers claim unfair competition from Moroccan products, alleging they «are not subject to the phytosanitary controls established by the European Union». This reasoning was condemned by the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita. «We are seeing attacks on agricultural products coming from the south», Bourita said during a press briefing with his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné. «While the European Union enjoys a trade surplus with Morocco of nearly 600 million euros, and it is the EU that exports the most agricultural products, cereals and others, to Morocco, pressuring products from the south is not fair», he argued.
