In the last parliament, there was an issue that united all parties represented in the parliament from left to right against the PSOE. What was achieved in exchange for Spain’s change in attitude towards the Western Sahara issue? Did Pedro Sánchez in turn support Morocco’s plan to keep the region as an autonomy within the Kingdom, awaiting decolonization? The issue is still on the table in this newly-started legislature. Specific results are sought. Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares went to Rabat this week to pick them up. It plans to re-implement the road map agreed upon after the change in position 20 months ago.
Since then Morocco’s advances have intensified andtake back retaliation The claim launched by Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali against Spain for treating Covid. Following the call for consultations, the ambassador returned to Madrid and diplomatic contacts were normalized. Since then, Albares has met with his counterpart Naser Burita many times.
At the last of these meetings, held in Rabat this Thursday, Burita argued that the customs of Ceuta and Melilla had not yet opened due to the epidemic. “technical implementation problems” and pointed out that it was possible to achieve this goal “in the coming months”. Melilla customs was already operating before it was closed in 2018, but this relied on trade in so-called “carriers”, which both countries now want to end. The one in Ceuta is a new customs office. Three pilot tests were carried out at both land borders to verify that everything was working correctly.
According to Albares, “everything is ready for them to start operating and there is no need for pilot tests anymore.” The reopening was agreed in April 2022, when the common roadmap between both countries was defined. So, without mentioning both autonomous cities claimed by Morocco, “ complete normalization of circulation will be established in an orderly manner, including appropriate customs and human control devices at land and sea level”.
“It’s hard for me to see that this has very clear positive effects,” he says in an interview with this newspaper. José María Peredo, Professor of International Politics at the European University. “From a regional perspective, definitely not. Spain has lost its balance role in its foreign policy towards Algeria and Morocco and has become weaker in this sense. Algeria remains a very important country for Spain in terms of energy supply and other aspects. “For Algeria, Rabat has managed to benefit from the political change in the region.”
Morocco took a stronger position in political negotiations after former US President Donald Trump declared that he recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. In return, Rabat agreed to greater diplomatic rapprochement with Israel within the framework of the Abraham Accords. “In this sense it seems Spain remained in reserve Increasing bilateral reinforcement between Rabat and Washington,” the analyst emphasizes, also wondering why neither Moncloa nor the State Department have made greater use of the representative figure of King Felipe VI in the new relationship.
Delimitation of maritime jurisdictions and airspace
Albares insists that all points of the joint declaration of 7 April 2022, following the meeting of Head of Government Pedro Sánchez and King Mohammed VI, are “fully in force and will be fulfilled”. Burita is also determined “to comply and implement” all commitments.
One of the most controversial agreements is the delimitation of waters between Morocco and the Canary Islands, which overlap in many areas. In this sense, the parties have undertaken the following:reactivate the workgroup on the delimitation of maritime areas on the Atlantic front in order to achieve concrete progress.” None known.
The water group is one of seven working groups that have been re-established and operate normally but secretly. The Moroccan minister announced that fifteen meetings have been held so far.
Negotiations regarding the management of airspace over Western Sahara are being conducted in great secrecy; these negotiations are currently being conducted by Spain from the Canary Islands and claimed by Morocco, and have complex implications for international legislation.
Increase in migration flows
Migration emerged as one of the most important consequences of the renewed relationship with Morocco. This was one of the weapons of repression used by its Maghreb neighbor that allowed thousands of Moroccans to attempt to enter Ceuta in one day in 2021. “Our cooperation on migration is a true global model,” he said in a speech in Morocco on Thursday. Manuel Albares.
However, the number of arrivals is increasing after the decrease last year. Especially on the route called “Canary route”: 32,422 people between January and November, According to the European border agency Frontex. This figure is more than double what will happen in 2022. On the Bosphorus route, this figure decreased by 2 percent to 13 thousand 507. In the European context, there have been a record number of arrivals since 2016, but the increase was 17% compared to the previous year.
The Spanish minister justified himself by claiming that he was based on numbers “Last year was very low” and increasing instability in the Sahel. “They are not coming from Morocco,” he reassures, emphasizing how they stay low on the Central Mediterranean route to Italy or the Eastern Mediterranean route to Greece.