The flow of MREs (Moroccans Residing Abroad) increased by 45% in Ceuta this year compared to 2019, the last year the Marhaba Operation was organized, according to estimates by the government delegation.
Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) can no longer stand spending hours at the Tarajal border before entering Morocco. They demonstrated to ask the authorities to find a solution to this situation.
The new NATO strategic document approved on Wednesday at the summit in Madrid, without expressly mentioning Ceuta and Melilla, reaffirmed the Alliance’s determination to "preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all allies against any aggressor".
Several families of Moroccans residing in Europe were blocked at the Tarajal border by the Moroccan authorities for non-compliance with the Covid-19 health requirements. They were asked to return to Spain, causing a massive traffic jam at the Spanish border.
Ciudadanos European MP Jordi Cañas has denounced Morocco before the European Commission for having closed the Melilla commercial customs office in Beni-Ensar for more than 2 years.
The Ministry of Health and the Tax Agency (AEAT) have drawn up a guide to specify the goods that can cross the Tarajal border from Morocco, as well as the authorized quantities and the prohibited products.
A timid start for the Marhaba Operation this year. For this first weekend after the launch of the Operation on Wednesday, the attendance is not at the rendezvous at the Ceuta border with Morocco.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has deployed 28 agents to ensure the security and fluidity of the transit of Moroccans from Europe via the port of Ceuta during the Marhaba Operation, between June 15 and September 15.
The Moroccan police arrested several people on Wednesday at the Tarajal border crossing who had come from Ceuta and presented fake PCR tests and vaccine passports.
Spain has extended by one month from this Wednesday, June 15, the measure requiring Moroccans to have a visa before entering Ceuta and Melilla.
The Vox party has demanded before the Senate "the revocation of the border reopening agreement until Morocco formally and expressly recognizes the undisputed sovereignty of Spain over Ceuta and Melilla and all Spanish territories in North Africa".
The President of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, declared on Saturday that he "encouraged and authorized all the actions" of his Vice-President, Mabel Deu (PP), in the context of the return of minors to Morocco last August. The Spanish judge had suspended these returns, deemed "illegal", and filed a complaint against the Vice-President.