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Rabat – The Spanish government has made official its decision to exclude Morocco from the list of “safe countries” for international travel.
The Spanish decision was published in its Official State Gazette on Friday, July 3. Algeria and China are also both missing from the list
“Morocco and Algeria, both very significant to Spain, do not appear on that first list,” El Pais reported.
The reason, according to the Spanish media, is the “lack of reciprocity of the criteria that the EU asks to take into account.”
Morocco has kept its borders closed since mid-March to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Spanish Government is likely to maintain external borders closed with Morocco and Algeria at least until July 31, the newspaper added.
On June 30, the EU reached an agreement to allow travelers from 15 non-European countries to enter the non-Schengen area starting July 1.
The list of the countries included in the ease of travel restrictions to Schengen areas includes travelers from Tunisia, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, New Zealand, Servia, South Korea, Thailand, and China.
In response to the decision, some countries reviewed the list, shortening it to between eight and 11 countries, with some leaving Morocco off the list.
Some European countries specified that the decision to open the borders is subject to application of reciprocity.
On June 13, Spain announced it is ready to open its borders with Morocco only if the two countries establish a reciprocal agreement to also allow people from Spain to enter Morocco. Rabat, however, has not yet released a statement to announce its position on the reopening of borders.
The country’s strategy regarding the reopening of borders will take into account the epidemiological situation in Morocco.
The government defines the situation as stable, despite the daily increase in COVD-19 cases.
To date, Morocco has 13,215 COVID-19 cases, including 230 deaths and 9,158 recoveries.
