Morocco blocks the customs of Ceuta and Melilla

The activity of the commercial customs of Melilla has been paralyzed since August 2018 when Morocco unilaterally decided to close this post. After the resumption of their diplomatic relations, Rabat and Madrid adopted in 2022 a roadmap, one of the key points of which was the reopening of the customs of Melilla and the creation of a customs post in Ceuta. But since then, the situation has not really evolved. More than three and a half years after Pedro Sanchez’s letter in favor of the Moroccan autonomy plan, Morocco is putting pressure on the Spanish government to recognize the Moroccanness of the Sahara, as the United States and France have done. But the Spanish authorities avoid taking a clear position on this sensitive issue for Morocco.

Meanwhile, anger is rising in the business circles of the two autonomous cities. Entrepreneurs deplore the willingness of the Moroccan authorities to economically stifle them for more than five years. They say they are at the end of this situation that prevents them from exporting their goods to Morocco. Since the partial reopening of the Melilla customs in January last year, only 19 goods have transited through this post, including seven destined for Morocco. In Ceuta, 42 goods were recorded, according to the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Ceuta (CECE).

Recently, Enrique Alcoba, president of the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Melilla (CEME-CEOE), denounced the fact that the commercial customs, which operated normally in this city since the Treaty of Fez of 1866 until its closure in August 2018, remains "out of service". "There has not been a single significant commercial shipment. In theory, it seems that the customs are open, but faced with this uncertainty and legal insecurity, no entrepreneur transports goods," said the president of the Melilla employers’ association, adding that the current situation is not due to a "lack of interest from companies", but to the "restrictive conditions" imposed on the transit of goods, which limit trade to "a few sectors, such as household appliances".

Alcoba urged the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, to defend the interests of the entrepreneurs of the autonomous city. Last Thursday, the President of the Government did not mention the situation of the commercial customs during his visit to Ceuta. For their part, the Moroccan authorities announced this week the launch of renovation work on the Bab Sebta border post, which should last six months. This rehabilitation would aim to facilitate the transit of vehicles between Ceuta and Morocco.