Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the EU’s resolution stating  that the attempts to “Europeanize” the crisis between Spain and Morocco are “futile.”

The ministry issued a press release a day after the European Parliament adopted a resolution on June 10, blaming Morocco on the influx of irregular migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, solely based on a Spanish telling of events.

In the statement, Morocco affirmed that the European Parliament’s resolution “does not change the political nature” of the bilateral crisis between Spain and Morocco.

The ministry additionally emphasized that the attempts to bring the crisis into the European Union will “in no way alter its purely bilateral nature, its root causes and Spain’s proven responsibility for its outbreak.”

Criticizing the instrumentalization of the European Parliament in the Spain-Morocco crisis, the ministry described the maneuver as “counterproductive.”

“Far from contributing to the solution, it is part of a logic of short-sighted political escalation. This maneuver, which aims to bypass the debate on the underlying reasons for the crisis, is not fooling anyone.”

Morocco and Spain have been in a state of discontent since April when Polisario leader Brahim Ghali entered Spanish territories with a fake identity and an Algerian diplomatic passport under the name of Mohammed Ben Battouch.

Algeria and Spain arranged Ghali’s hospitalization in a Spanish hospital without notifying Morocco.

Rabat denounced and deplored Spain’s action, describing it as an action against the best interest of the partnership between the two countries.

Amid the crisis, thousands of migrants crossed to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in northern Morocco. The influx of migrants sparked outrage among Spanish media, the Spanish government, and political parties.

Some Spanish politicians and officials accused Morocco of blackmail and for using minors in the crisis. The situation led some Spanish MEPs to take the crisis to the European parliament.

For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the resolution is “out of step with Morocco’s exemplary record of migration cooperation with the European Union. These are the very people who try to criticize Morocco in this area who actually benefit from the concrete and daily results of cooperation on the ground.”

Not Europe’s Gendarme

The ministry argued that no one in Europe can question the quality of the partnership between the European Union and Morocco in all areas, including migration. 

“The figures are there to confirm it,” the ministry said.

Morocco aborted more than 14,000  irregular migration attempts in the last four years, the statement emphasized. 

During the same period, Morocco also dismantled over 5,000 trafficking networks and rescued over 80,500 migrants at sea.

The ministry repeated that Morocco does not need to be graded in the field of migration management.

“The posture of the teacher and the student no longer works. Paternalism is a dead end. It is not punishment nor reward that induces behavior, but the conviction of shared responsibility.”

Since the emergence of the mass irregular migration in Ceuta, Morocco emphasized it is working to help Europe combat the situation as a partner.

“Morocco has no obligation to protect the borders of countries other than its own,” Bourita said in a recent interview with LCI.

The resolution of the European Parliament, “is contrary to the spirit of the partnership” between Morocco and the EU.

“As much as Morocco is satisfied with its relationship with the European Union, it considers that the problem remains with Spain, as long as the reasons for its outbreak have not been resolved.”