Moroccan King Mohammed VI said that relations with Spain are facing serious challenges and warned that there should be no pressure, threats or blackmail between the two countries. His statement comes more than two months after a migration wave in which tens of thousands of Moroccans reached Spanish territory.
In a speech at the opening of the parliamentary session in Rabat, Mohammed VI condemned “irresponsible statements by political and media circles“ in Spain, directed against Morocco. The king did not specifically mention the Ceuta crisis, but criticized legal provisions and court decisions that he said were hindering the return of Moroccan citizens.
Rabat wants a change in the migration model
The Moroccan monarch described the current model of cooperation in the field of migration as outdated. According to him, the recurring crises are the clearest evidence that the mechanism no longer corresponds to reality.
According to unofficial data, Morocco estimates its annual costs for controlling migration to Europe at around 500 million euros. At the same time, the funding the country receives from Brussels for this activity is less than 150 million euros. The data is not presented as an official financial statement.
Mohammed VI's statement places migration at the center of bilateral relations with Spain. From Rabat's perspective, future cooperation should be reviewed so that it is not based on pressure and takes into account the costs that Morocco associates with controlling migration flows to Europe.
Sources: bnrnews.bg