The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, discussed yesterday in Madrid with the presidents of Ceuta and Melilla, Juan Jesús Vivas and Eduardo de Castro, respectively, the “gradual and orderly opening of trade customs” with these two Autonomous Cities in compliance with the roadmap with Morocco and the conclusions of the last Spanish-Moroccan High Level Meeting (RAN).
During the meetings, held separately at the headquarters of the Ministry in Madrid at the request of both presidents, “matters of interest to these cities after the recent High Level Meeting held in Rabat” were addressed, as reported by Foreign Ministry in a press release. Among these matters, they discussed “the development of the process of gradual and orderly opening of commercial customs in Ceuta and Melilla, with the continuation of the tests being carried out according to the schedule agreed with Morocco, as reflected in the Joint Declaration of the RAN,” it continued.
Likewise, both the Foreign Minister, Vivas and De Castro agreed “on the need to prevent the scenes of the past from being reproduced and the return of the so-called atypical trade”. To this end, the Ministry continued, “it is essential to continue the process of full normalization of the border and customs regime, in accordance with international standards”. Finally, the Minister and the two regional presidents congratulated themselves for “the positive effects that the normalization process is already having in both autonomous cities”.
As reported by the Government of Ceuta, Albares assured Vivas that the decision to implement a commercial customs at the Tarajal border, in an orderly and gradual manner, is “firm, and therefore irreversible”, according to what was discussed at the High Level Meeting, held on February 1 and 2. During the Rabat Summit, Spain and Morocco undertook to continue working “so that the commercial customs in Ceuta and Melilla continue to open in an orderly and progressive manner until the full normalization of the passage of people and goods is achieved, as established in the Joint Declaration of April 7”.
The RAN came a few days after the realization, as a “pilot test”, of the first commercial expedition through the customs offices of Ceuta and Melilla, the first step towards the reestablishment of customs controls in Melilla, paralyzed since October 2018, and the establishment, for the first time, of a customs office in Ceuta. For that reason, Vivas assured Albares yesterday that, if the referred implementation of the customs is completed, “we would be facing a milestone of historical significance”, so he offered “the full collaboration of the City for the material management of said customs”.
On the other hand, José Manuel Albares himself declared yesterday, during a forum organized by Llorente y Cuenca on the occasion of the next Spanish Presidency of the EU, that the relations with Morocco are “the number one priority of the foreign policy” because “refusing to have a good relationship with Morocco is something very harmful for the Spanish people” in general and for those who live in Ceuta and Melilla in particular.
