Morocco Excludes Spanish Ports from Annual Diaspora Return Operation

The warming of relations between Morocco and Spain is not for tomorrow. In a recent press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation indicates that MREs will be able to make the summer return through the same European ports as last year, (France and Italy). In making this decision, Morocco is once again doing without the services of the Spanish ports. If the exclusion of Spain in 2020 was linked to the fact that the year was "non-ref, from mid-June to the end of September, that of 2021 is not anodyne.

Every year, Morocco has always associated the Spanish ports with the Marhaba operation. The exclusion this year is explained by the tensions between Rabat and Madrid. At the origin of these tensions, the emergency admission of the Polisario leader, Brahim Ghali under a false identity on April 18. These tensions have remained strong following the return of the separatist leader to Algeria. Morocco had announced that it was studying the measures to be taken after this episode. In the eyes of several Spanish media, the exclusion of Spain is a first response from the kingdom.

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This decision would not be without consequences, especially for Spain. The three main Spanish ports will record a huge shortfall. In 2020, the cancellation of the Marhaba operation had generated a shortfall of 70 million euros for Algeciras, Almería and Tarifa. In 2019, these ports recorded 894,891, 280,312 and 271,554 passengers respectively. With this decision, the same media predict that the shipping companies that will be mobilized (Marseille Sète and Genoa) will only be able to transport a maximum of 250,000 people (i.e. one tenth of those who normally travel by boat) and that the opening of airspace with almost all of Europe from June 15 will not allow exceeding the million MRE who will be able to return to Morocco.