Morocco Stalls Customs Deal, Reigniting Tensions with Spain over Ceuta and Melilla

One of the current points of friction between Spain and Morocco concerns the reopening of the commercial customs of Melilla and the opening of a customs office in Sebta, in accordance with the agreement signed in Rabat in April. But the installation of these customs would mean for Morocco a tacit recognition of the Spanish nature of the two autonomous cities that it continues to claim. Aware of this reality, the kingdom seems not to cooperate for the realization of these customs, reports El Mundo, specifying that in 15 months, there are only three exports from Spain to Morocco and one import from Morocco to Spain.

Added to this pending issue is Morocco’s recent statement regarding Ceuta and Melilla, which it considers "Moroccan cities" in a correspondence to Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission Vice-President for Immigration. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a verbal note to the Moroccan embassy in Madrid to firmly condemn these remarks. "Any diplomat who knows Morocco knows that it will never stop claiming Ceuta and Melilla. It claims them from time to time, always and regardless of any agreement," says an expert.

Last April, the President of the Moroccan Senate, Enaam Mayara, had declared that the kingdom would eventually "recover" the "occupied cities" without having to "resort to arms". In this context of latent tensions, Morocco expelled two Spanish lawyers from the Sahara on Saturday. They had gone to Laâyoune on a mission to observe the human rights situation. No official reaction from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to denounce this situation has been recorded. "Morocco is a complicated partner and the relationship can deteriorate with a simple gesture, which is why it accommodates it," explains the expert.

Morocco is waiting for the results of the early elections in Spain to see what will become of the roadmap agreed with Pedro Sanchez who, in the interest of good neighborliness, has abandoned Spain’s historical neutrality on the Sahara. In any case, neither the Popular Party (PP) nor the Socialist Party (PSOE) wants to have strained relations with Morocco. The PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said he would work to strengthen relations with Morocco and restore those with Algeria if he came to power.