Spain Unveils Plan to Redesign Ceuta and Melilla Borders, Combat Smuggling

A commission composed of representatives of at least six ministries (Territorial Policy, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Health and CNI intelligence services) has been set up by the government to prepare for the reopening of the borders of Ceuta and Melilla. For the moment, no official date is communicated, but Spain believes that Morocco could agree to open its borders before the second quarter of 2022.

To read: Spain Invests €9.7 Million to Upgrade Ceuta and Melilla Border Security

According to government sources, the objective of this commission is to propose new economic alternatives at the borders to break with the bad practices that prevailed before the closure of the borders. Regardless of the decisions of Morocco, which has maintained "economic pressure" and "stifling" on the two autonomous cities for years, Spain will continue its plan, says El Pais.

To read: Spanish Enclaves Ceuta and Melilla Face Economic Crisis Amid Moroccan Border Tensions

The reforms to be implemented as soon as the borders reopen concern the management of the borders themselves. In the medium and long term, the government will work to implement its socio-economic rescue plan, the development of which began after the migration crisis in May and which is not yet finalized. Thus, the smuggling trade once tolerated, which generated around 500 million euros per year in Ceuta and more than one billion in Melilla, will no longer be allowed.

To read: Spain Seeks to Redefine Status of Ceuta and Melilla, Eyeing Gibraltar Model

At the reopening, Spain plans to install commercial customs with Morocco at the border posts of the two cities, in order to allow legal traffic of goods. In case of rejection of this proposal by Morocco, Spain intends to change the status of Ceuta and Melilla which would function as islands, with an economic model oriented towards Europe. An option that would be difficult to reconcile with the entry of Ceuta and Melilla into the EU customs union or the Schengen area. It will also be necessary to complete the rehabilitation work on the border which will be "intelligent", with facial recognition cameras and computerized records of entries and exits.