Ceuta Seeks Economic Shift: From Morocco Smuggling to EU Customs Union

For a long time, its inhabitants have benefited from a regime close to that of free zones with a clear reduction in tax on the import of goods and on income. This has allowed the smuggling trade, once tolerated, reports L’Économiste.

With the prospect of reopening, the inhabitants are looking for an economic alternative, hence the idea of joining the European customs union, to get out of the economic pressure and suffocation imposed by Morocco.

For them, there would be more gains than losses in this integration. It is also a support for their status as Spanish and European citizens in the face of Morocco’s legitimate claims of sovereignty over this former enclave.

However, this project will face the opposition of the kingdom but also the caution of Spain, which has no interest in further angering its neighbor, the newspaper points out.