Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will meet with US President Joe Biden on Monday on the sidelines of the NATO summit. The migration crisis with Morocco will likely be at the heart of the discussions with the US president.
The Istiqlal party has once again called on Morocco to recover Sebta and Melilla, which it considers Moroccan and African lands. This was on the occasion of the weekly meeting of the party’s executive committee held in person on Friday, June 11, 2021.
The Spanish army fears that its members who are suspected of having committed violence against Moroccan minors after their arrival in Ceuta last May will be prosecuted in court. In the event of an unfavorable response, the soldiers concerned are considering rebelling.
The President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez , rejected a proposal from the army to strengthen border control teams in Ceuta and Melilla, in response to the migration crisis that occurred in May. The Moncloa considered that this plan does not help to "defuse" the situation.
The European Parliament adopted on Thursday, June 10, "a resolution on the violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the instrumentalization of minors by the Moroccan authorities in the migration crisis in Ceuta ". This is enough to undermine its relations with "one of its best partners in Africa".
The first vice-president of the Spanish government, Carmen Calvo, indicated in a response to an oral question to the government in the lower house, initiated by the Popular Party (PP), that she has been mandated by Pedro Sánchez to resolve the crisis with Morocco.
Morocco threatened on Monday to suspend its cooperation with the European Union if the European Parliament voted on Thursday a resolution condemning the kingdom’s attitude in allowing thousands of underage migrants to enter Ceuta in May, in reaction to the reception by Spain of Brahim Ghali.
To prevent any future attempt at massive entry of migrants into Ceuta , Morocco has taken drastic measures at its borders.
The Criminal Court of Ceuta has sentenced a Moroccan who tried to cross the border in 2017 with a fake identity document to eight months in prison and a fine of 720 euros.
Concerned by the tensions between Morocco and Spain, the Spanish Popular Party (PP) wishes that Madrid resume "as soon as possible" its relations with Rabat.
After Together for Catalonia chaired by Carlos Puigdemont , former president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, it is the Istiqlal Party (PI) that is calling on Morocco to recover Ceuta and Melilla. Moroccan territories that are "part of the EU by legacy of a colonial past."
Spain’s sovereignty would be threatened by Morocco, which would claim the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, according to a report by the Spanish army and the Ministry of Defense, which calls for strengthening communication facilities and controls in these territories.