BRUSSELS - The European Court of Justice ruled on Friday that the European Commission had breached the right of people in Western Sahara to self-determination by concluding trade deals with Morocco.

Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain, has been the scene of Africa's longest-running territorial dispute since colonial power Spain left in 1975 and Morocco annexed the territory.

Friday's decision is the final ruling after several appeals by the Commission, the European Union's executive arm. The EU signed fishing and agriculture agreements with Morocco in 2019 that also covered products from the Western Sahara.

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"The consent of the people of Western Sahara to the implementation... is a condition for the validity of the decisions by which the (EU) Council approved those agreements on behalf of the European Union," the court said.

It said a consultation process that took place had not involved "the people of Western Sahara but the inhabitants who are currently present in that territory, irrespective of whether or not they belong to the people of Western Sahara".

The court also ruled that melons and tomatoes produced in Western Sahara must now have their origin labelled as such.

"Labelling must indicate Western Sahara alone as the country of origin of those goods, to the exclusion of any reference to Morocco, so as to avoid misleading consumers," it said.