Senate urges Government to demand Rabat a “specific date” for Ceuta and Melilla opening

Eduardo González The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee approved this Tuesday a motion by the People’s Group in which the Government is urged to demand from Morocco the opening of the commercial customs of Ceuta and Melilla, “setting a specific date and guaranteeing the necessary conditions for its operation”. The text was approved with the votes against of the PSOE. In its motion, the PP recognises that Morocco is “a neighbouring country and strategic partner for Spain and the European Union”, but “relations between the two countries have not always been fluid and cordial, especially with regard to cross-border trade and the transit of people”. In the case of Ceuta, “Morocco has never recognised the El Tarajal border crossing as a commercial customs post, despite Spain granting it that status in 1958”, while “the Commercial Customs Office of Melilla (Beni Enzar) was closed by Morocco in August 2018, without prior notice or justification”, it continues. According to the People´s Group, these customs play a “crucial role” in the economic future of the two autonomous cities, “ensuring prosperous and normalized commercial relations, and putting an end to practices such as the so-called ‘atypical trade’, which consists of the transport of goods on foot or in vehicles, without customs or tax control, and which generates situations of precariousness, exploitation and violation of human rights”. “The urgency of these measures for Ceuta and Melilla lies in the need for the border to function in accordance with its status as the external border of the European Union, both in the transit of people as travelers and in that of goods”, it adds. For this reason, the motion approved in the Senate urges the Executive of Pedro Sánchez to “demand the Government of Morocco to fulfill its commitment and to prepare technically for the opening of the commercial customs of Ceuta and Melilla, setting a specific date and guaranteeing the necessary conditions for its operation”. The motion also calls for the promotion of “dialogue and cooperation with the Government of Morocco to resolve the problems and conflicts affecting trade relations between the two countries, in order to normalise the regime of travellers at the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, respecting the rights and obligations of both parties”. An amendment was introduced in the debate by the People’s Group itself, which was also approved, urging the Government to “carry out the appropriate procedures with the Alawite kingdom, so that the Commercial Customs Office of Melilla can be reopened immediately, as there are no technical or other issues that would prevent its normal reopening,” and to “encourage compensatory investments in key sectors, with the aim of alleviating the economic damage suffered and ensuring the transfers necessary for the sustainable development and socio-economic stability of both cities”. PSOE rejects Instead, the Commission rejected a replacement amendment by the PSOE to maintain “the current State policy with Morocco, fundamental for Spain, and vital for the socio-economic development of Ceuta and Melilla” and to reiterate the Government’s commitment “to the full normalisation of the borders and customs of both cities, betting on a border model that guarantees order and control both in the transit of people and goods and that will mean great opportunities for these two cities”. The PSOE amendment also urged “continuing dialogue and cooperation with the Government of Morocco in order to complete, gradually and progressively, the process of opening customs at the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, respecting the rights and obligations of both parties”. The PP text, with its amendment included, was finally approved with 20 votes in favour, nine against and two abstentions. Among the votes against were those of the PSOE, whose spokesman, Rafael Lemus, expressed his astonishment at the PP's decision to ask for "demands" from Rabat, when, "if there is a country at this moment with which Spain has to prioritize its relations, it is Morocco." For her part, Isabel Moreno, from the PP, regretted the Government's foreign policy, which "is based on absolute and shameful submission" to Morocco, and accused the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, of having lied on several occasions about the imminent opening of customs and of not caring "a fig" about the impact of the closure of both customs on hoteliers and merchants. The opening of land customs in Ceuta and Melilla is one of the points of the Roadmap adopted in April 2022 in Rabat by Pedro Sánchez and King Mohamed VI after the thaw in bilateral relations as a result of the acceptance of the autonomy plan for Western Sahara by the Spanish Government. Despite this, there has still been no progress in this regard and there is no date for it. In February of this year, Pedro Sánchez assured, during his official trip to Morocco, that he was confident that “soon” there would be “significant progress” in the process of opening land customs in Ceuta and Melilla, but he did not obtain any concrete commitment from the Moroccan authorities in this regard. Two months earlier, during his first international trip in the new legislature, Albares told the Moroccan government in Rabat that, on Spain's part, "everything is ready for land customs to begin operating" with Ceuta and Melilla and, therefore, "no more pilot tests are necessary" (in reference to the three pilot tests carried out in January, February and May 2023). However, he also failed to get any date from his counterpart, Nasser Bourita, who attributed the delays to "technical problems". In January 2024, the People’s Parliamentary Group in Congress urged the Government to inform the Lower House "of the schedule agreed with Morocco for the reopening of commercial customs" in Ceuta and Melilla, "which to this day remains secret".

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