Bloomberg: Spain Must ‘Rethink’ Morocco Relationship, Foreign Minister Says

José Manuel Albares. Photo: John Thys/AFP/Getty Images.

Spain must overhaul its relationship with Morocco following a surge of migrants into Ceuta, the country’s north African exclave, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said — even as he stopped short of blaming Rabat for the incident, Bloomberg writes.

“We have to rethink the cooperation, the relationship, the dialogue to make sure that on both sides we take the right measures for this not to happen again,” he told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.

Albares declined to weigh in on Morocco’s involvement, however, despite allegations from a police report, Spanish opposition parties and even some politicians within the government’s own coalition that Rabat helped roughly 80,000 people cross the border over two days in late July.

“We are totally in favor of understanding everything,” he said, stressing that there were several ongoing probes. “We are in full transparency.”

The incident has put the Spanish government on the defensive. Even though most of the migrants quickly left, between 5,000 and 10,000 remain, causing a local humanitarian crisis and mounting anger within Spain. Many questions also remain about what exactly happened.

This week, a Spanish judge launched a formal investigation into the matter, looking for potential crimes against the country’s territorial integrity. The probe will explore reports of Moroccan involvement and whether criminal organizations played any role.

The turmoil is ill-timed for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who will face voters sometime next year.

Albares spoke in Brussels, where he traveled for meetings with several top European Union officials. Spain is pushing to further integrate Ceuta into the EU market and wants more money to bolster the city’s security.

Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas, from the opposition People’s Party, also met this week with several EU officials, asking them to press the Spanish government to swiftly deport the remaining migrants.

“Certainly this can’t happen again,” Alares said. “In order to do that, we have to reinforce that border. That’s why we want a greater involvement of Frontex, the asylum agency of the EU, more EU presence.”

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