The Government of Pedro Sánchez has handed over control of the commercial customs of Melilla to Morocco. After two years and eight months of negotiations, the neighboring country will be able to introduce its products into the autonomous city and, in exchange, will allow a truck with a specific merchandise to pass from Melilla, which must previously be authorized by the Moroccan authorities.
As ‘El Faro de Melilla’ advances, while Morocco will be able to “introduce its aggregates, fruits, vegetables and fish into Melilla”, from Spain only “certain products will be able to enter Melilla, which will be determined by the Moroccan authorities where appropriate.” The criteria established by Morocco to decide on the goods “have not been made known.”
It was on April 7, 2022 when Pedro Sánchez traveled to Rabat to seal peace with Morocco and put an end to the diplomatic crisis that originated in Spain the previous year, following the Government’s decision to host the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Galiin a hospital in Logroño, where he was admitted to treat his Covid symptoms. The “humanitarian reasons” for that action—as the Sánchez Government put it—led Spain to an unprecedented migratory crisis on the border with Morocco.
To correct their mistake, Spain and Morocco made a joint declaration in which they committed to reopening the commercial customs of Ceuta and Melilla, closed since the beginning of the diplomatic crisis. A month earlier, on March 19, 2022, Sánchez already gave in to Rabat in order to begin the path of reconciliation. To do this, it changed Spain’s traditional position and declared Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, the territory that has historically been disputed with the Polisario Front, whose main supporter is Algeria. The other side of the coin of that meeting to seal peace now comes with the Melilla customs.
When consulted by ABC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not given any information about this Government decision. It seems that the opening is being finalized, but they also do not specify when the passage of goods will begin, which cannot be called an exchange because, according to information, it will not be equal. Even so, the Foreign Ministry has been emphasizing since 2022 that with this negotiation Spain will not only be able to reopen the Melilla customs office, it will also open the Ceuta customs office, which Minister Albares has declared on several occasions “has never existed.”
Waiting to know the final agreement between Spain and Morocco and to know which products will cross commercial customs in each direction, the president of Melilla, Juan José Imbroda, this Thursday expressed his opposition to reopening commercial customs with conditions. “Melilla would be considered just another Moroccan city,” he stated.
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