Case C-399/22, Confédération paysanne (Melons and tomatoes from Western Sahara): Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 October 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État – France) – Confédération paysanne v Ministre de l’Agriculture et de la Souveraineté alimentaire and Ministre de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Common commercial policy – International agreements – Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part – Amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement – Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 – Article 9 – Article 26(2) – Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 – Article 3(1) and (2) – Article 5(1) and (2) – Article 8 – Article 15(1) and (4) – Annex I – Annex IV – Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 – Article 76 – Provision of food information to consumers – Mandatory indication of the country of origin or place of provenance of foods – Fruit and vegetables harvested in Western Sahara – Request for a Member State unilaterally to ban imports of those goods in its territory – Mandatory indication of Western Sahara as the place of provenance of tomatoes and melons harvested in that territory)
Date: 2024-10-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Morocco, Western Sahara, certificate of origin, consumer information, designation of origin, fruit, fruit vegetable, import restriction, labelling, product designation








C_202501198EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/1198


3.3.2025






Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 4 October 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État – France) – Confédération paysanne v Ministre de l’Agriculture et de la Souveraineté alimentaire and Ministre de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique


(Case C-399/22,
                (1)
Confédération paysanne (Melons and tomatoes from Western Sahara))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common commercial policy - International agreements - Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part - Amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement - Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 - Article 9 - Article 26(2) - Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 - Article 3(1) and (2) - Article 5(1) and (2) - Article 8 - Article 15(1) and (4) - Annex I - Annex IV - Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 - Article 76 - Provision of food information to consumers - Mandatory indication of the country of origin or place of provenance of foods - Fruit and vegetables harvested in Western Sahara - Request for a Member State unilaterally to ban imports of those goods in its territory - Mandatory indication of Western Sahara as the place of provenance of tomatoes and melons harvested in that territory)
(C/2025/1198)
Language of the case: French

Referring court

Conseil d’État

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Confédération paysanne

Defendants: Ministre de l’Agriculture et de la Souveraineté alimentaire and Ministre de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 207 TFEU, Regulation (EU) 2015/478 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 on common rules for imports, and Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007
must be interpreted as not permitting a Member State unilaterally to adopt a measure banning the import of agricultural goods the labelling of which systematically fails to comply with the EU legislation concerning the indication of the country or territory of origin.










2.


Article 76 of Regulation No 1308/2013, read in conjunction with Article 3(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 of 7 June 2011 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 in respect of the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors, as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 594/2013 of 21 June 2013,
must be interpreted as meaning that, at the stages of import and sale to the consumer, the labelling of Charentais melons and cherry tomatoes harvested in the territory of Western Sahara must indicate Western Sahara alone as the country of origin of those goods.






(1)  
            OJ C 359, 19.9.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1198/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)