Spanish Government Reaffirms Sovereignty Over Ceuta and Melilla Amid Diplomatic Tensions

The Secretary General of the PSOE and First Deputy Mayor of Melilla, Gloria Rojas, assured that the Spanishness of Ceuta and Melilla "is not a subject of discussion and debate", and that "the government has proven it several times". "The only presidents who have come to Melilla are from the PSOE, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in 2006 and Pedro Sánchez last May, following the migration crisis in Ceuta," she recalled.

To read: Ceuta President Affirms Spanish Sovereignty Over Enclaves Amid Moroccan Claims

"We agree that we need to resume relations with Morocco... But for someone in 2021 to think that the government is going to say that Ceuta and Melilla are not Spanish, that’s a joke," Rojas said, arguing that the two cities "are as Spanish as any other city in Spain." "For the central government, whether relations with Morocco are better or worse, the Spanishness of the two cities will not be called into question. It is non-negotiable and incontestable," insisted the Vice President of the Melilla Executive.

Rojas also made it known that "all the essential infrastructures of Melilla come from the PSOE" and that "the PP only talks".