The commercial customs of Ceuta and Melilla will open next week

2023-01-17T16:46:43.891Z

The land passage of goods, on a limited basis, will start a few days after the Rabat summit Unless there are last minute changes, the commercial customs of Ceuta and Melilla with Morocco will open next week, probably on Wednesday the 25th, one week before the High Level Meeting (RAN) scheduled in Rabat on February 1 and 2 , which will be attended by President Pedro Sánchez accompanied by a dozen ministers, according to Spanish government sources. The opening of customs between the two ci

Unless there are last minute changes, the commercial customs of Ceuta and Melilla with Morocco will open next week, probably on Wednesday the 25th, one week before the High Level Meeting (RAN) scheduled in Rabat on February 1 and 2 , which will be attended by President Pedro Sánchez accompanied by a dozen ministers, according to Spanish government sources.

The opening of customs between the two cities and the neighboring country was one of the milestones provided for in the roadmap agreed on April 7 last year, when the head of government went to the Moroccan capital to seal the bilateral reconciliation after almost a year of diplomatic crisis.

The joint statement did not mention Ceuta and Melilla, but it did say that "the full normalization of the movement of people and goods will be restored in an orderly manner,

Melilla customs was closed without prior notice by Morocco in August 2018, while in Ceuta there has never been a regular land passage of goods, although there has been a tolerated flow of contraband euphemistically known as

atypical trade

Added to the political misgivings generated by the fact that Rabat does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the two places in North Africa is the fear that these border crossings will compete with the neighboring Moroccan ports of Tangier and Nador.

One of the unknowns to be cleared up is the capacity that its commercial customs will have.

The Government Delegation in Ceuta spoke of a "regional customs" for vehicles of up to 3.5 tons, vans and

pick ups

, but the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has denied that the transit of goods will be restricted, although he admits that the opening will be done in a "gradual and orderly" manner, so at least initially it will be limited.

"We are going to advance in phases on a solid and satisfactory model," he assured EL PAÍS in November.

"There are images from the past that we don't want to see again," he added, alluding to the avalanches in the queues that caused the death of Moroccan porters at the border crossing.

The comprehensive plans for Ceuta and Melilla, approved last October by the Council of Ministers, provide for an investment of 711 million euros over four years.

Around 1.5 million must be invested in the new Ceuta customs, with some 300 square meters, where a prefabricated module has been installed for the moment.

The diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat coincided with the pandemic, which caused a total closure of borders.

After reestablishing air and sea connections, on May 17 of last year the land crossing for citizens of the EU and the Schengen area was reopened and on the 31st of the same month for legalized cross-border workers.

But the greatest transit of travelers occurred with Operation Passage of the Strait which, after two years of suspension, resumed last summer.

The RAN will stage the definitive normalization of relations, since a summit of this level has not been held since 2015. It was the Moroccan suspension of the RAN scheduled in Rabat in December 2020, with only a week in advance, the first symptom of the deterioration of relations, although the crisis did not break out until Spain welcomed the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Gali, in April 2021, to deal with the covid.

Morocco only closed the crisis after Sánchez sent a letter to Mohamed VI in which he described the Moroccan autonomy proposal for the Sahara as the "most solid, credible and realistic basis" to resolve the conflict, thus abandoning traditional neutrality. Spanish on the future of their ex-colony.

The change in policy on the Sahara caused tensions between the two government partners and was not supported by United We Can, whose ministers it is not yet known if they will go to Rabat.

The presence of the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, is ruled out, although government sources allege that it is due to the fact that it is not planned to sign any agreement in areas of its competence.

The list of ministers who will participate in the RAN, according to the same sources, has not yet been finalized.

It is expected that they will be, in any case, responsible for various economic ministries, as they want to give new impetus to commercial relations, as well as the head of the Interior.

According to data from the Secretary of State for Trade, Spanish exports to Morocco reached 9,869.5 million between January and October of last year,

The RAN was going to be held at the end of last year, but it was postponed until, on November 24, after meeting in Barcelona, Albares and his Moroccan counterpart, Naser Burita, announced that it would take place in the last week of January and the first week of February.

Diplomatic sources explained then that it was a matter of fitting in Sánchez's busy schedule with the complicated one of Mohamed VI who, although he does not formally participate in the RAN, will receive the Spanish president in audience.