Melilla Business Group Seeks EU Intervention in Morocco Border Dispute

For the Confederation, Morocco’s intention in closing the customs post at the border level "was to economically asphyxiate the port of Melilla and the merchants of this city," reports El Faro de Melilla. In a press release signed by its president, Enrique Alcoba Ruiz, he indicated that it will seize the Council of Europe "through the Spanish deputies". "We hope to have the support of the Spanish government and all the political parties represented in Melilla through their respective European parliamentary groups," he said.

Morocco has banned imports of goods via land customs with Melilla since August 1, 2018. For the Melilla employers’ association, "Morocco wanted to develop its maritime traffic. The figures for container traffic in the two ports of Nador "clearly demonstrate the sophistry of the Moroccan authorities to justify the requirement to only allow the import of goods unloaded at the port of Nador and, indirectly, to prohibit imports through land customs with Melilla," he explained.

"In 2018 and 2019, with the closure of customs, the port of Nador managed to surpass the port of Melilla (5,010 containers in Melilla and 1,787 in Nador)," the CEME-CEOE pointed out, adding that "despite the closure of borders, the highest figure for the port of Nador in 2020 in terms of container traffic (2,200 containers) does not reach 20% of what transited through Melilla in 2016 (10,089 containers)".

For Ruiz, "Morocco, even during the pandemic, has never closed its borders to trade with Spain and the EU with the exception of Melilla," deploring the inaction of the Spanish authorities, which forces them to turn to the Council of Europe to request their mediation. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, the CEME denounced the "lack of response" from the government in the face of "increasingly aggressive attacks by Morocco," in violation, according to it, of various bilateral and international treaties.

The organization intends to raise these shortcomings before the Council of Europe in order to put an end to a "very serious economic situation that can lead to a more serious social situation in Melilla".