Rabat pressures Madrid and opens the door to "suspend" the extradition agreement

MadridThe crisis in Ceuta is reopening the Pandora's box: the diplomatic relationship between Rabat and Madrid, always sensitive, could become strained and threaten to trigger a clash between the two countries, which joins the list of ups and downs that have marked the relationship bilateral. The cautious tone of the Spanish government with Morocco is beginning to differ from that used by the Alawite country, which in recent days has accused Spain of "hindering" the return of migrants, but has also questioned the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla. Although it is not the first time it has done so, in this context it generates more alarm. Rabat is now pressing with the extradition agreement it has with Spain and is opening the door to "suspend it". At the same time, however, it says it is willing to "develop a plan" with Spain, a "friendly" country, to "definitively resolve the migratory problem", according to the Moroccan Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, in an interview with Efe this Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Moroccan minister, the solution to put an end to the current migratory dynamic requires "firm and brave decisions" and, in some cases, "difficult ones". Ouahbi took the opportunity to criticize the Spanish government's extraordinary regularization and link it to a pull effect.

This Tuesday, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, acknowledged from Ceuta conversations with his Moroccan counterpart to seek, precisely, these "solutions", which could involve new bilateral agreements. Albares, forcefully, assured that "up to the last person" who had entered Ceuta by swimming from Morocco would be "returned". A message that at the same time responded to the demands of the PP of Ceuta and a part of the population. In this regard, Ouahbi insisted to Efe that they want all minors to be "returned". The return procedure is established by Spanish immigration law and the Spanish government has already stated that its priority is family reunification.

Meanwhile, the Alawite country continues to not update the number of dead and missing on its side of the border after the entry of tens of thousands of people into Ceuta on July 30, which has resulted in the deadliest tragedy on the southern border.

Pressure on Ceuta and Melilla

But the pressure doesn't end here. This Wednesday, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, defended Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta. This was after statements by Ouahbi himself, in which he questioned it again, saying it was a "pending matter." "Ceuta is very Spanish [...] And Ceuta and Melilla are not to be touched," Robles stated in an address to the media from the autonomous city. With this message, the minister also wanted to calm some residents who greeted her with shouts: "We will not leave you alone." Robles traveled to Ceuta for the first time, where the humanitarian emergency is still palpable in the streets, and she did so after asking the Ceuta military personnel to return from their holidays in response to circulating rumors that there could be a new mass entry attempt this weekend.

the humanitarian emergency is still palpable in the streets, and she did so after asking the Ceuta military personnel to return from their holidays in response to circulating rumors that there could be a new mass entry attempt this weekend.

Morocco's position on Ceuta and Melilla – it has always claimed sovereignty over these territories – is historical and customary. In fact, it has always been one of the sticking points in the bilateral relationship between Madrid and Rabat. While the Moroccan regime pressures the Spanish government on this matter, the latter censures it, albeit very carefully measuring its actions. For example, the Spanish royal family has only visited Ceuta once in democracy. It is, in fact, Felipe VI's pending assignment. Although it has been raised again in light of the migratory crisis, among the citizens of Ceuta, it is taken for granted that such a photo is practically impossible. Amidst the crisis, the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas (PP), met with the king at the Marivent Palace in Palma.

The PP has also defended Spain's sovereignty over the two enclaves in Africa: "They are not negotiated [Ceuta and Melilla]. They are defended," said the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, via the social network X.

Robles met this Wednesday with the State security forces and bodies, specifically with the army, which since July 31 have reinforced their presence in the autonomous city, but especially on the border with Morocco.

Political clash in the Senate

In Spanish domestic politics, the crisis only brings the PP and the Spanish government into agreement on this strategy of returning people, but the clash continues to escalate around migration policies, and explanations from the central executive. This Wednesday, the Popular Party went to the Senate, where the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, had been summoned to appear. The Spanish government had already said it would not go and would appear at its own request at the end of August in Congress. The Popular Party, however, is already considering legal action.

The other scheduled appearances were that of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who will also not go, and that of the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles. In the latter case, the PP announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached for her to appear next Tuesday, August 18, but for now the Spanish government is playing it down.

Two weeks in the open

However, Robles has had words of remembrance for the victims of the tragedy, the deadliest on the Southern Border since records began, and has warned those who "use and manipulate" people to cross the border: "The full weight of the law will fall upon them," she said, referring to the "criminal mafias." The precarious situation in which many people in Ceuta find themselves continues to be evident on the streets. "We are up to our necks in work. We are still providing many daily meals," says Moustafa on a phone call with ARA. The president of the NGO Luna Blanca states that "more than a thousand people continue to sleep in the open."