Morocco has decided to exclude the Spanish ports from the transit operation this summer, in what it seems like a reaction to the Spanish ‘hostility’ towards the high interests of Morocco, such as hosting the separatist ‘Polisario’ front leader, Brahim Ghali, who has triggered a huge crisis between Madrid and Rabat.
According to a statement issued yesterday by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the transit operation, which is an annual operation is organized by Morocco and Spain to facilitate the transit of Moroccans living in Europe through the Gibraltar strait every summer, would be organized only through France and Italy.
The statement did not point out any kind of Moroccan reaction towards Spain, but many observers linked the decision to the ongoing crisis between the two neighboring countries, while others justified the Moroccan decision as a precautionary measure against a possible flood of thousands of Moroccans from Spain, which increase the threat of the pandemic spread.
Every summer, more than 3 million Moroccans living abroad cross the Gibraltar strait through Spain to their homeland in Morocco in order to spend their vacation with their family, which generate a positive impact on the economy of Spain, especially the cities which are border-crossings such as Algeciras, Tarifa, Malaga, and Motril.
The Moroccan decision was described by the Algeciras Mayor, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, as a ‘disaster’, because thousands of jobs, companies, will be affected, asking the Moroccan authorities to review the decision, according to Spanish ABC newspaper.
Landaluce criticized the Spanish government over the ongoing crisis with Morocco and considered it the reason of what the Spanish border crossing cities would suffer from that decision.
