Ceuta has been suffering for months from the effects of the suffocation that Morocco is exerting on the border, preventing the passage of goods first, hindering the transit of passengers later and finally prohibiting the entry of fish through the Tarajal. For this reason, this was one of the first issues for which the Senator of Vox for Ceuta, Yolanda Merelo, questioned the Government, after taking office. The Ceuta parliamentarian asked the Pedro Sánchez Executive to say what measures it plans to apply to alleviate the negative effects of this suffocation in Ceuta, and the Government is now replying that it is gathering information to assess the situation.
At the beginning of March, the senator of Vox for Ceuta warned of the collapse on the border that Morocco was causing and stressed how this is due to a strategy of "siege and suffocation" by the neighboring country on the autonomous cities. In addition, he pointed out that in parallel with the strangulation of the Ceuta economy, the port of Tangier is being strengthened or establishing free zones in northern Morocco.
Merelo asked the government if he had issued any type of protest in the face of this situation, which, he warned, "violates good-neighborly relations." Likewise, it asked for information on what measures the Executive had planned to adopt to "alleviate the suffocation that Ceuta is suffering and by which trade and tourism are harmed." And finally, the senator asked about the intention to apply measures such as retaliation or countermeasures.
Now the Executive has answered and it has done so affirming that it is "aware of the increase in the restrictions on the traffic of certain products imposed unilaterally by Morocco at the border crossings of Ceuta and Melilla". However, far from announcing measures to support both cities or to curb Morocco's claims, the Sánchez government justifies itself by saying that it is in contact with the delegates of the government of both cities and other ministerial departments “to gather all the information from the current situation, as well as the applicable regulations necessary to make an evaluation of the consequences generated and analyze in a coordinated way the corresponding courses of action in the current context ”.
For VOX Ceuta this response shows that, so far, nothing has been done and that the Government continues to delay the city's problems. And it is that, of the measures to be adopted, the Executive only talks about future intentions as it is planned “a next meeting at the level of the general directors of Customs of Spain and Morocco to discuss these issues and understand the object and scope of the measures taken".
Finally, for VOX the Government is giving in once again to the impositions of Morocco, since in its response to Merelo it insists that "bilateral relations between Spain and Morocco are based on dialogue, respect and mutual understanding."
"This constant dialogue, and at all levels, between two strategic partners serves to resolve possible existing disputes, without having to resort to other measures such as protest, retaliation or countermeasures," says the Sánchez Executive, adding: " It is hoped that within the framework of the excellent relations that are maintained with Morocco, it will be possible to agree on the best way to address this issue for the benefit of the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta, Melilla and the rest of Spain ”. However, dialogue, if any, has so far not produced any results.
