Morocco’s Border Closure with Spanish Enclaves Masks Deeper Diplomatic Tensions, Says Opposition Party

In a statement to the press, PP deputy to the Assembly, Fadela Mohatar, recalled that Morocco had already unilaterally closed its customs post in Melilla on August 1, 2018, before closing its borders with the autonomous city a year and a half later, in March 2020, for health reasons, according to Europa Press.

To read: Spain’s Popular Party Urges Swift Restoration of Ties with Morocco Amid Migration Concerns

"The closure of the border is motivated in the background by diplomatic and political problems. This situation is having a severe impact on all the citizens of Melilla who are concerned about the duration of the measure and do not know when it will end," she said.

The PP parliamentarian, aware of "the socio-economic impact this has had on both sides of the border," believes that it "would not be logical to reopen the borders in the current circumstances." Instead, she proposes "flexibility to allow residents of border areas to move freely, but in no case as was the case before the border closures, without any filter or control."