Morocco is one of the highlights. election campaign inside Spain. In every interview and discussion, the neighbor to the south is discussed. Relations with the North African country have been one of the most important issues that preoccupied Spanish diplomacy in the last legislative period. Spain experienced the worst crisis of the last two decades with Morocco and a consensus marked by the Government’s return in relation to Western sahra. However, the freezing of relations with Türkiye was added to this diplomatic puzzle. Algeria. A legislature marked by tension and detente with neighbors to the south.
“Now we find ourselves in exactly one moment. tension, even in what some call a honeymoon with Morocco. However, I believe relationships continue to be fragile.” “This is a moment of mutual trust, positive change and building the future. partnership Rachid El Houdaïgui, an expert at the Center for New South Policy and professor of International Relations at the University of Tangier, argues that Spain accepts Morocco as it is, and vice versa.
“The roadmap agreed upon with the visit of the Head of Government (Pedro Sanchez) is growing very slowly. The area where the biggest fruits are visible has been the area of cooperation on the issues. immigrant”says Larramendi. He explains that this compromise is “asymmetrical to the extent that Spain takes a step forward (in Western Sahara next). However, what is expected from Morocco is being delayed over time,” he said. As in the opening customs ads Ceuta And Melilla.
Western Sahara, in the center
In this legislature, the question of Western Sahara was placed at the center of the agenda. bilateral relations. A policy not unique to Spain: “Morocco has consolidated its foreign policy stakes in recent years and has had crises with other countries, in the past with Germany and now more or less openly. FranceLarramendi is trying to push or encourage more open support for his stance on the Sahara,” he adds.
“the previous diplomatic crisis it was a savior electroshock for him status quo and the routine in which the relationship between the two countries is established,” argues El Houdaïgui. According to the Moroccan expert, the current relationship between the countries is going through a “quite positive” period, citing as an example “Spain’s new attitude towards the Sahara problem” or the High Level Meeting, which has not been held for eight years. “We must not forget the roadmap signed in 2022, which is very important because it provides a political framework for the implementation of new relations,” he explains.
lack of consensus
According to Larramendi, one of the “fragile” elements of this compromise is the lack of Spanish political consensus on Western Sahara. “It wasn’t made public enough, which led to the election campaign itself,” he says. He also stresses that although the PSOE and Podemos have very distant positions on this issue, this does not mean the Government is disintegrating.
The Spanish expert points out that one of the possible tension factors in the future will be the “conditioning of the Government to Moroccan expectations” so that “Spain reaffirms and advances its position in supporting Moroccan theses on the Sahara”. It also indicates the future delimitation of territorial waters. Canary Islands or the future of the EU Fisheries Agreement Rabatas potential conflict issues that the new Administrator will have to face.
Looking ahead, Larramendi explains that when there are changes in governments, changes in relations with Morocco are “minimal” and that he does not believe a radical turn can take place. Houdaïgui also argues that he does not think that Spain’s position will change if the right wins in Spain, and that the government’s turn in the Sahara is “definitely not a short-term decision, but a structural decision”.
Algerian crisis
“We now find ourselves in a clear alliance with Morocco, but that blew relations with Algeria,” Larramendi said. “It’s a bit about what the targets are from my point of view, the priority towards the north of Spain. Africa: Maintain good relations with Morocco, but the priority is the stability of the country. Maghreb and from North Africa,” he explains. For now, the relationship between Madrid and Algeria has been frozen since June 2022, when Algerian authorities suspended the friendship agreement binding them. This crisis also affected Turkey. Spanish companies Those who work in the country because they are experiencing a blockade that prevents them from importing or working in products from Spain.
Crisis and reconciliation between Rabat and Madrid
The crisis between the two countries broke out with the emergence of Spain. Polisario Front hosted Bahim Ghali, in a La Rioja hospital in April 2021. A gesture that angered Moroccan authorities, who accused the Spanish government of wanting to hide it. This discomfort, after a month, More than 5,000 people swam to Ceuta as the Moroccan police allowed it.
The big change came months later, when he published the contents of the Moroccan royal house in mid-March 2022. A letter from Sánchez to Mohamed VI. In that letter, the Spanish president uttered the words that would mark the reconciliation: “Spain sees Moroccan autonomy proposal (for Western Sahara) as the most serious, credible and realistic basis”.
Relations fell apart, however, and a month later Sánchez landed in Rabat to meet with the Moroccan ruler and meeting scene. Various agreements were signed with the aim of unlocking everything that was frozen by the diplomatic crisis. In early February this year, The High Level Meeting was held in the Moroccan capital.