Spain to Reopen Ceuta and Melilla Borders with Morocco After Two-Year Closure

The reopening of the border posts of Tarajal in Ceuta and Beni-Ensar in Melilla was agreed in the roadmap adopted in Rabat on April 7, at the end of the meeting between Pedro Sanchez and Mohammed VI. It will be effective on Tuesday, May 17 at 00:00, announced on Thursday the Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, specifying that only EU citizens or those with a Schengen visa will be able to access the Spanish cities.

The border workers whose papers are up to date (estimated at around 300), will only be authorized to cross the borders on Tuesday, May 31, added the Spanish minister. The reopening of the borders, as announced, will therefore be more symbolic in this first phase, the duration of which is not determined, believes La Razon, noting that the date of the reopening coincides with that of the beginning of the migration crisis in Ceuta a year ago.

But before the reopening of the borders, Spain and Morocco still have to agree on two important points: the reopening of the commercial customs in Melilla and the creation of a new one in Ceuta, and the abolition of the visa exemption for Moroccans residing in the border towns with Spain such as Tetouan.