No, Spain has not "sacrificed" its security for the benefit of Morocco in the Adamuz tragedy

A rumor claims that the Spanish government would have "offered" 247 million euros to Morocco to modernize its rail network at the expense of its own security. An accusation that has gone viral, shared more than 12,000 times, but which is based on a major confusion between diplomatic gift and financial mechanism.

In reality, this amount is not a financial gift, but a repayable loan. It is the Fund for the Internationalization of the Company (FIEM), a tool created in 2010. This system allows Spain to finance projects abroad, on the express condition that they benefit its own companies. In this case, an envelope of 190 million euros has been allocated to allow the Spanish branch of Alstom to manufacture and supply the trains for the future tramway lines in Casablanca.

So it is not a blank check. The Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance acts here as a borrower who will have to repay the entire sum to the Spanish state. Before granting this loan, Madrid systematically evaluates the repayment guarantees of the recipient. This type of financing is also common: El Salvador or Uzbekistan regularly use it, and Morocco had already benefited from it in 2017 for a desalination plant in Al Hoceima, long before the arrival in power of Pedro Sánchez.

The dissemination of these messages attempts to oppose Spanish rail safety to economic cooperation with Morocco. However, the investigation into the Adamuz accident is focusing on local technical failures with no connection to these trade agreements. Far from the diplomatic "gift", these funds primarily serve to support the Spanish industry in the Moroccan market, while guaranteeing a financial return for Madrid.