Why Morocco views Gibraltar as a precedent

The reasons why the United Kingdom considers its control over Gibraltar to be legitimate are the same as those why Spain considers its control over the Plazas de Soberanía to be legitimate: the long-standing presence on the territory and the will of the population. The reasons why Spain lays claim to Gibraltar are the same as those why it lays claim to the Plazas de Soberanía: the former is situated on Spanish territory; the latter on Moroccan territory.

Morocco has consistently called on Spain to apply the same principles in both cases, even though relations with Madrid are currently good, at least on the surface. Pedro Sánchez’s government maintains that Rabat is not responsible for the latest migration crisis and, in the meantime, is pressing ahead with the project to link Spain and Morocco directly via an undersea rail tunnel: a project due to be completed between 2035 and 2040.

At the end of April, however, the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee in Washington described Ceuta and Melilla as cities administered by Spain ‘located on Moroccan territory’. This development is linked both to Donald Trump’s irritation with Pedro Sánchez’s government, which he accused of ‘failing to cooperate’ in the war against Iran and of maintaining a pro-Palestinian stance; and to Morocco’s accession, in December 2020, to the Abraham Accords, through which the United States and Israel recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Now, in the wake of this crisis, even the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has sarcastically asked why “Spain, which never misses an opportunity to lecture Israel, continues to maintain colonial enclaves in Africa”.

Is it Morocco which, whilst feigning good neighbourly relations with Spain, is making its moves against Madrid behind the scenes? There are also rumours that Rabat is seeking to relocate the Spanish base at Rota to its own territory, the failure to use which for operations against Iran is said to have irritated Trump. Or is it Trump and Netanyahu who are trying to manoeuvre Morocco?

Meanwhile, on 15 July, an agreement between the European Commission and the United Kingdom came into force, under which all police and customs checks between Spain and Gibraltar have been abolished, effectively integrating Gibraltar into the Schengen Area, although without it technically joining the European Union. Conversely, Ceuta and Melilla are part of the EU, but the Schengen rules apply there under special conditions: anyone entering may only leave after undergoing checks.

In theory, this represents an immediate setback for Morocco, given that, in order to concentrate checks at the airport, Gibraltar has suspended the ferry service linking it to the African coast after twenty years. However, in April a Gibraltar minister visited Morocco; joint military exercises between British and Moroccan forces are a regular occurrence in Gibraltar itself; and the call to grant Ceuta and Melilla a status similar to that of Gibraltar has been made not only by local political forces but also by the Muslim community, which has historically had close ties with Morocco.

In short, Rabat regards Gibraltar as a precedent in many respects.