Morocco Challenges EU, Claims Ceuta and Melilla as Moroccan Territory

In this document sent to the European institution on May 17, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs lambasted the "hostile declarations" against Morocco and the "Moroccan cities of Ceuta and Melilla" by the Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of immigration, Margaritis Schinas, who has repeatedly defended that Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish and European borders.

This statement violates the commitment made on February 2 in Rabat by Morocco and Spain to "avoid anything that offends the other party, especially on issues touching on their respective sovereignty," referring to the Sahara and the two autonomous cities, reports El Pais. For the Spanish media, the European Union is "unhappy" with Morocco, a major beneficiary of European aid, from whom "respect and subtlety" are "expected".

Schinas had mentioned during the recent European Security and Defense Summit in Brussels the "hybrid strategy" of Morocco that uses immigration as a "weapon", referring to the migration crisis of May 2021, when 10,000 migrants, mostly minors, entered Sebta.