Western Sahara Dispute Strains Spain-Morocco Relations Amid Shifting Geopolitics

"Officially, Spain aligns itself with the UN position on the Sahara issue. But behind the scenes, public opinion and many Spanish politicians continue to support the Polisario," says the monthly magazine BAB of the MAP, which considers that Pablo Iglesias is the "source of the political crisis with Morocco" on this issue.

The magazine specifies that the recognition by the United States of the Moroccanness of the Sahara has upset the geopolitics of Spain, which did not expect such a decision. "Spain, very concerned about this conflict and being part of the Friends of the Sahara Club, has received the American decision coldly and, above all, with a lot of caution this new reality..." continues the newspaper, which also recalls that Spain, hosting an American military base in the southwest of Andalusia, fears the effects of Morocco’s recent decision to take a law to delimit its maritime borders.

In reality, "Spain is aware of Morocco’s weight for the whole of Europe, particularly in the crucial areas of immigration and security, and of fishing as far as it is concerned," notes the magazine, which believes that the European Union "must lay the foundations for a new relationship with Morocco, made of frankness and transparency".