Spanish king to visit disputed enclaves, testing Morocco ties after border crisis

By Mireia Merino

MADRID, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Spain’s King Felipe will visit the disputed North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla this month, sources in the royal household said on Thursday, a move that could further strain tense relations between Madrid and Rabat following a border crisis this summer. 

The trip by Felipe and Queen Letizia on October 13 and 14 will be his first to the enclaves during his 12-year reign. It comes just over two months after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta from Morocco in late July.  

The Moroccan government has historically opposed Spanish royal visits to the two cities, over which it claims sovereignty and which it regards as occupied by Spain.

Madrid considers the strategic outposts an integral part of its territory. Ceuta and Melilla have been part of Spain since the 17th and 15th centuries, respectively.

Felipe, Spain’s ceremonial head of state, has mostly refrained from commenting publicly on the Ceuta crisis since it began, first mentioning the enclave two weeks ago to praise civil protection workers there.

But at an official dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday during his state visit to Spain, Felipe said European countries should have shown more solidarity with Madrid, calling the situation in Ceuta “unacceptable.”.

Morocco’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the planned visit.

Political debate in Spain since the border surge has largely centred around Morocco’s precise role in the crisis. Opposition parties have accused Moroccan officials of complicity or inaction and accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of being too soft on Rabat. 

After initially praising Morocco for its cooperation in repatriating the migrants and repeatedly denying that Rabat had orchestrated the crisis, Sanchez told CNN in an interview last week that Morocco’s border controls had failed during the rush.

Morocco has denied any laxness, blaming the crossing on social media disinformation, human traffickers, and the misinterpretation of a Spanish court ruling that appeared to open a legal loophole for arrivals by sea.

(Reporting by Mireia Merino; Additional reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi; Editing by David Latona and Gareth Jones)