Spain’s economy is 10 times bigger than Morocco’s, and the European country was once a colonial overlord there. But, as Jacob Mundy, associate professor of peace and conflict studies at Colgate University, points out, Spain relies on its neighbor for cooperation in a number of areas beyond migration, including anti-narcotics and anti-terrorism operations.
“Spain and Morocco have been at war with each other on and off for centuries and yet they have these profoundly deep, commercial, security and other kinds of relationships,” he said.
“You’d think: Spain’s the bigger economy and so on, it’s going to be the one in charge, and yet Morocco has found ways to have the upper hand to some degree,” he added, underlining the “prickliness” that Madrid often encounters when dealing with Rabat.
Morocco’s alleged manipulation of migratory flows into Ceuta and Melilla is one such example, as well as periodically preventing Spanish fishing fleets from accessing its waters.
The perception that Sánchez has been soft on Morocco was fueled by his government’s decision, in 2022, to end nearly five decades of Spanish neutrality on Western Sahara by backing Rabat’s proposal that the territory should come under its control.
That was seen as an effort by Madrid to secure once and for all its neighbor’s cooperation on migration and prevent repeats of May 2021, when Morocco allowed around 10,000 people to cross into Ceuta in the space of a few hours.