Jose Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs / DR ‹ › Tensions have emerged between Melilla and Madrid. On Monday, March 9, the government of Melilla rejected statements by Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares claiming that commercial customs with Morocco are operating normally, according to Spanish news agency EFE. In an interview on February 22, Albares stated that «in Melilla and Ceuta, customs offices are operating normally, a historic first». For her part, Sabrina Moh, the Spanish government delegate in Melilla, had previously announced that 46 commercial shipments had passed through customs since the beginning of the year. However, the vice-president of Melilla's local government challenged these claims, saying: «The commercial customs office has been closed since August 2018, nearly eight years. The government claims it is functioning normally, but this is just another lie and a real deception for all the residents of Melilla». He also lamented that the passage of goods under the passenger regime from Melilla to Morocco «continues to be hindered», unlike the reverse flow, which he said «further harms the city's economy, self-employed workers, merchants, and restaurateurs in Melilla». The debate over customs was reignited following an intervention by the Coalition for Melilla (CPM), the main opposition party representing a significant portion of the city's indigenous Muslim population. The party proposed supporting the local government in demanding that the Spanish state establish a mechanism allowing local businesses to access «reliable, regular, and accessible» information on customs activity. However, Melilla's vice-president, a member of the People's Party, responded that this responsibility lies exclusively with the central Spanish government.
