The Director General of Moroccan Customs, Nabil Lakhdar, said that "there will be no commercial customs" in Ceuta, adding that "the border crossings of Ceuta and Melilla are only small corridors for customs controls".
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska assured on Thursday from Brussels that Ceuta and Melilla already have "all the support" of the government, without specifying whether the latter is studying the possibility of integrating the two autonomous cities into the Schengen area.
The Socialist MEP, Lopez Aguilar, believes that the European Parliament would not object to supporting the removal of the Schengen visa exemption granted to Moroccans from Tetouan or the accession of Ceuta to the customs union.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, reassured deputies in Congress that the territorial integrity of Spain and Ceuta and Melilla is "fully guaranteed" by the government.
The presidents of Ceuta and Melilla, Juan Jesús Vivas and Eduardo de Castro, called on Wednesday for greater integration of their two cities into the European Union (EU) to counter Morocco’s "hybrid strategies".
The Vox party is asking the government of Pedro Sanchez to demand that Morocco explicitly recognize Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla.
The new directives put in place following the reopening of the border posts of the two Spanish enclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, are not to the liking of merchants, especially those specialized in smuggling.
Goods traffic in Melilla will be limited from June 8, the date on which controls will start on the Spanish side of the border with Morocco.
Facial recognition at the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, envisaged by the Spanish authorities, is strongly contested by human rights organizations, who denounce a violation of the fundamental rights of citizens.
The closure of the borders in Ceuta and Melilla has led to a significant increase in Moroccan customs revenue, driven by the end of the smuggling phenomenon.
The report entitled "Ceuta and Melilla: more Spain, more Europe" will be presented on June 1 to the European Parliament. This is a document that addresses the possibility of the two autonomous cities being integrated into the European Union.
No goods destined for Morocco are allowed to cross the border posts of Beni Ensar in Melilla and Tarajal in Ceuta since the reopening of the borders on May 17. Businessmen in the two autonomous cities are calling for reciprocity in traffic.