Perejil Island is an uninhabited and arid islet located in the Strait of Gibraltar that very few in Morocco or Spain had heard of but that almost led both countries to an armed conflict. On July 17, 2002, 28 Spanish soldiers evicted a group of Moroccan gendarmes who had occupied the territory with the aim of “fighting against illegal emigration and terrorism”.
It was the first major crisis between the two countries in the 21st century, but not the last. In the last 20 years, relations between the two countries have been dotted with disagreements.
However, something has changed this week.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, spoke on Thursday of “a new stage” in relations with Morocco during the first bilateral meeting since 2015.
Sánchez specified that this new cycle will mean a permanent dialogue on all matters that affect the two countries “without resorting to unilateral actions” and addressing any issue “however complex it may be.”
Euronews has spoken with Eduard Soler, Professor of International Relations at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, to understand how they have reached this point.
From Perejil to Ceuta: half a century in crisis
“Relations between Spain and Morocco have always been complicated,” explains Soler, “among other things because there are sovereignty problems.”
The crisis on the island of Perejil exemplifies the intensity of their clashes. The situation went on for 15 months and escalated to the point where the United States had to mediate.
At the center of the animosity between neighbors are the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, located in the north of Morocco, but under Spanish sovereignty since 1640 and 1497, respectively.
“Then there have been attempts to repair this relationship, to prevent crises like these from happening,” says Soler, “but during these 20 years what we’ve also seen is how there have been times when immigration has poisoned relationships or has been used at times, often by Morocco, as an element to demonstrate to Spain the costs of not getting along and the benefits of doing so”.
This was precisely what happened in May 2021 when Morocco opened the border for 48 hours allowing access for 10,000 irregular migrants in the Spanish city of Ceuta, which has less than 90,000 inhabitants.
It was a reprisal for the reception by the Spanish authorities of Brahim Ghali so that he could be treated in a hospital in Spain. The life of the Saharawi leader was in serious danger due to a COVID-19 infection. It was the Moroccan written media that discovered his whereabouts and set off diplomatic alarms in Morocco.
“It was answered by Morocco with the argument that Morocco could not be a partner of convenience with which you cooperate on some issues and not on others,” explains Soler.
The entrenched conflict in Western Sahara
The question of Western Sahara has been another of the main stones in the wheel of relations between the two countries.
Morocco has occupied Western Sahara since the early 1970s, when the last Spanish soldiers abandoned what was then a Spanish province to their fate.
Following the UN decolonization protocol, Franco’s Spain agreed in 1967 to organize a self-determination referendum, but the promise was never fulfilled.
Since then, Morocco has claimed sovereignty over the territory and Spain had never ruled on the matter, until March 2022. The Government of Spain then positioned itself for the first time in favor of Morocco’s autonomy plan against the right of self-determination of the Saharawi people.
“There is no doubt that Spain wants this reconciliation with Morocco, since it considers a situation in which there is no normal relationship with its southern neighbor dangerous,” Soler points out the reason for this change in position.
“And Morocco, aware of this need on the part of the Spanish government, has tried to play well with the times, with the symbols, to try to extract as many concessions as possible, which is what any actor in the international system does.”
A new cycle: “see the glass half full”
The great unknown of the bilateral meeting was whether King Mohammed would receive Pedro Sánchez in person.
But it was not like that, their conversation was finally over the phone.
“Obviously this may have tarnished in some way the symbolism of the meeting,” says Soler. “In fact, the political opposition in Spain would be using it to consider that this government would not have met the objectives that were sought in its relations with Morocco.”
“But surely that’s all, seeing the glass half full or half empty.”
If the glass is half full, the two countries have promised to address all aspects of their relationship by always maintaining open communication “without resorting to unilateral actions and without leaving out any issue, no matter how complex it may be.”
Among the issues addressed, Sánchez referred to the renewed commitment in immigration matters.
“It is easier for concrete progress to be made on very sensitive issues, such as cooperation on migration, the fight against terrorism and also the management of the land borders of Ceuta and Melilla with Morocco,” says Soler.
“Specifically, we have agreed that the commercial customs offices of Ceuta and Melilla will continue to open in an orderly and progressive manner,” added Sánchez.
