Border Crisis Threatens Spanish Enclaves as Businesses Flee to Morocco

The business leaders of Ceuta and Melilla are sounding the alarm over the deterioration of the economic and border situation. The president of the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Melilla, Enrique Alcoba, denounces a "flight" of companies towards Morocco, while the two Spanish enclaves are suffering the consequences of Morocco’s non-compliance with the traveler regime.

In Melilla, uncertainty reigns. "The entrepreneurs of Melilla are not motivated," explains Enrique Alcoba to the newspaper El Faro de Melilla. He describes a climate of "legal insecurity" that deters any investment. "No one dares to buy merchandise that may not be able to pass through," he adds, specifying that some entrepreneurs have already relocated their business to Morocco, Malaga, or have simply closed shop.

The most sensitive problem shared by the two cities is that of the traveler regime. Entrepreneurs and citizens denounce a one-way situation: it would be impossible to pass the slightest merchandise from the Spanish side to Morocco - even "a small box of cookies" or a "baby bottle" - while the reverse flow would encounter no obstacle from the authorities of the two countries.

For Arantxa Campos, head of the Ceuta employers’ confederation, Morocco’s refusal to respect this "simple, clear and internationally accepted norm" is proof that it is behaving as an "unreliable neighbor". She, like her counterpart in Melilla, calls on the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene to "put things in order".

The solution, according to them, would be to normalize the operation of the Tarajal and Beni Enzar border posts. Entrepreneurs are asking Morocco to treat Ceuta and Melilla like the rest of the European Union and are calling for the creation of a "constant communication channel" between the authorities of the two countries, including representatives of the companies, to quickly resolve incidents.