Spanish Enclaves Ceuta and Melilla Seek EU Integration to Boost Economy

After four years of unilateral border closure by Morocco due to the health and diplomatic crisis, Ceuta and Melilla want to revive their economies, which are heavily dependent on trade with the kingdom. To do this, they intend to turn to the European Union, which they wish to join the Committee of the Regions and the customs union, and are asking the Spanish government to work in this direction.

The president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, has verbally made this request to the permanent representation of Spain to the European Union, while his counterpart in Melilla, Eduardo de Castro, has sent a letter to Pedro Sanchez to request the accession of the two cities, considered as the "southern borders of the EU", to the Committee of the Regions, a consultative body of the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on issues related to local and regional administration in areas of health, education, employment or social policies.

The president of Melilla proposes that the government ask Brussels to grant two seats to Ceuta and Melilla on the Committee of the Regions. Failing that, he asks to propose a single representative for the two cities, or that one of the four members of the FEMP be elected by the autonomous cities. The presidents of Ceuta and Melilla have also asked the government to work for their integration into the EU customs union, while preserving their special economic and tax regime.

Rabat and Madrid have put an end to the atypical trade at the borders of Ceuta and decide