Spain-Morocco Customs Dispute Stalls as Negotiations Hit Impasse

The last bilateral meeting on this issue was held on April 14 in Rabat. The two parties agreed to intensify the pilot trials at the border this month, with the daily passage of fresh animal and plant products that must be subject to specific health inspections. But Rabat would not show any interest in continuing these negotiations, indicate sources close to the case to El País, noting a bad faith of the Moroccan authorities who do not seem motivated to reopen the commercial customs, more than a year after the reopening of the borders of Ceuta and Melilla.

Only two pilot trials for the passage of goods have been carried out, on January 27 and February 24. Rabat is demanding technical prerequisites before the opening of customs, which requires a political commitment from the Spanish authorities. The latter insist rather that Morocco respect the agreement concluded in April 2022. A request to which Morocco has not responded. During the April meeting, the two parties agreed to record in a written agreement the types of products that will be authorized to transit through customs and the measures that Spain will implement to prevent smuggling.

The Spanish government’s willingness to reopen the Melilla customs office and create a new one in Ceuta could be interpreted as an implicit recognition of Spain’s sovereignty over the two autonomous cities that Morocco considers "occupied presidencies". Morocco’s procrastination could therefore be justified, but this commitment to reopen customs is not being respected, what will Spain have ultimately gained in this change of position on the Sahara in favor of Morocco, apart from the reduction of migratory flows, wonder some analysts.

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, assured last year that the commercial customs would be opened before the High-Level Meeting held in early February in Rabat. In the joint communiqué that concluded the work of this summit, the two parties had decided to continue the trials with a view to the definitive opening of the customs according to an "agreed calendar" which has not been made public "for security reasons".