During a visit to Rabat Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez remained cautious on the opening of commercial customs in Ceuta and Melilla, skirting demands from right-wing and far-right opposition parties for a concrete date. Repeating earlier statements by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, Sanchez stressed Spain's readiness but attributed the delay, criticized by the Popular Party and Vox, to «technical questions» on the Moroccan side. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita had previously clarified that it's not a «political commitment» issue but a «technical implementation problem» regarding customs. Sanchez promised to address the issue during the upcoming visit of Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to Madrid, while advocating for «transparent trade» in Ceuta and Melilla. Both countries conducted three test runs in 2023, but the full operationalization remains elusive. The Joint Declaration from the 12th Moroccan-Spanish High-Level Meeting reaffirmed the commitment to «full normalization of traffic of people and goods» and outlined continued testing to overcome obstacles.
