If Morocco and Spain now agree on a number of subjects and at their head the question of the Moroccan Sahara, the fact remains that the new position of the Iberian neighbor, in particular the recognition of the Moroccan autonomy plan, had the effect of the sword of Damocles on the Algerian military junta.
Rabat, Friday April 8, 2022, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, responded to the invitation of King Mohammed VI and shared with him the table for breaking the fast. A meeting full of symbols, promises and ambitions. Indeed, the discussions between Mr. Sanchez and King Mohammed VI have sealed a new era. The immediate result of this improvement in the historical relations of the two countries was the ratification by the two countries of a major security agreement, signed in 2019, and which was to enter into force at the end of April 2022. In addition to the reopening of maritime links, the ne of the direct consequences of this agreement is the decision taken to hold in the coming weeks, for the first time in seven years, the high-level bilateral meeting. Need we remind you that it was to take place in December 2020 and that Morocco postponed it indefinitely following the inappropriate reaction of the former head of Spanish diplomacy, Arancha Laya Gonzalez, to the American recognition of the sovereignty of Morocco over its Sahara.
Given that the two Mediterranean neighbors are now on the same wavelength, this high-level meeting, in principle annual, will be regular. Of course, when diplomatic and political relations are in good shape, cooperation in all areas is taken to a higher level, particularly in terms of security but also in terms of trade, knowing that Spain is the first economic partner and trade of Morocco.
Biggest diplomatic failure
As for Sebta and Mellilia, two aspects are to be discussed. From an economic point of view, the reopening of land borders will not be synonymous with tolerance of smuggling. On a political level, the tacit agreement which binds the partners wants Morocco to put on hold, for a certain time at least, its claims of these two enclaves. If Rabat and Madrid now get along wonderfully and tune their violins on a number of subjects and at their head the question of the Moroccan Sahara, the fact remains that the new position of the Iberian neighbor, in particular the recognition of the plan of Moroccan autonomy as the most credible and realistic solution for the resolution of the dispute, had the effect of the sword of Damocles on the Algerian military junta.
The tenants of the palace of El Mouradia might not mourn what is considered their greatest diplomatic failure. From threat to threat, the response is hysterical. Spain’s new position vis-à-vis the Moroccan Sahara issue continues to provoke the ire of Algerian officials. After summoning his ambassador to Madrid for consultations and officially threatening through the Secretary General of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chakib Kaid, to “revise all his agreements” with Spain, the boss of Sonatrach added to these declarations another in which he threatens to raise the price of gas supplied to the Iberian neighbor.
“Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, gas and oil prices have exploded. Algeria has decided to maintain, for all of its customers, relatively correct contractual prices. However, it is not excluded to recalculate prices with our Spanish customer,” said the CEO of the Sonatrach group, Toufik Hakkar, relayed by a dispatch from the official Algerian agency APS dated April 1, 2022.
Collateral damages
If implemented, this decision will ultimately only benefit the United States. Since the closure on October 31, 2021 of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, by the Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, American gas exports to Spain have skyrocketed. In February 2022, Spain produced 12,472 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity from gas from the United States, i.e. 32.9% of total imports of this product, compared to 8,801 GWh in Algeria, i.e. 23 .2%, according to official statistics from the company Enagás, responsible for maintaining and developing gas infrastructure in Spain.
On March 28 in Rome, the Secretary General of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chakib Kaid, declared to the Spanish newspaper El Correo that “it is clear that Algeria is going to review all the agreements with Spain, in all areas , to see in the future how the relationship develops”.
These reprisals come two days following the Algerian regime, through its official news agency APS, accused the UN organization UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) of being in the pay of Morocco.
Another collateral damage of the Morocco-Spain rapprochement is that the Algerian authorities have begun, since Monday, April 11, 2022, to complicate the entry of cattle from Spain into the Algerian market. According to the Spanish media La Razon, these obstacles have multiplied in recent days and have resulted in a blockage of access to the Algerian market for Spanish breeders and commercial operators.
“This may seem minor in the overall context of trade relations between Spain and Algeria, if we compare the economic volume of livestock sales with that of gas imports from this country, but it is a significant fact”, estimates the newspaper, which considers that this recent decision, with that to increase the price of Algerian gas sold to Spain “are clear signs that something has changed”.
Algiers is now turning to France for its purchases of calves. As it did by favoring Italy for its gas exports. Despite its reactions and threats, Algeria is weakened and isolated more than ever. She can’t swallow a bitter feeling following many humiliations. As for Morocco and Spain, the new page is still blank. It will be filled with initiatives that serve the interests of both countries.