Spain-Morocco Maritime Border Talks Stall Over Canary Islands Dispute

Since its reactivation agreed upon after the meeting between Pedro Sanchez and Mohammed VI on April 7 in Rabat, the Hispano-Moroccan working group in charge of studying the issue has only met once. This meeting held on June 28 in Madrid and attended only by experts from the two countries, without a political profile, did not allow to move forward.

However, sources from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicate that this meeting allowed to lay the foundations for the establishment of the various working groups according to the three areas affected by the delimitation of the waters, namely: fishing, security and transport, and the environment.

The delimitation of maritime spaces between Morocco and Spain could affect the Sahrawi waters, which would have political consequences in this context of diplomatic crisis between Algeria and Morocco on the one hand and Spain on the other, with the Sahara issue in the background.

For Morocco, a possible change of government in Spain would bring the negotiation back to square one. On the Spanish side, the authorities believe that the issue is not a priority for Rabat and that they will be forced to put pressure on the kingdom to advance the negotiations.