Spain and Morocco can and should secure their borders, but this does not allow either government to abuse migrants or absolve them from their responsibilities to respect human rights. Sunday 02/02/2020. The fence . The Moroccan authorities have talked a lot about the need to regulate the informal sector. We got a lot of information prior to entering from the Morocco Knowledge Base and from Horizons Unlimted. This is our experience crossing the Spain-Morocco border on Tuesday, 17 May 2016. Morocco–Spain border; A. Alboran Sea; C. Ceuta border fence; M. Melilla border fence; S. Strait of Gibraltar This page was last edited on 3 July 2020, at 17:53 (UTC). Every summer tens of thousands of members of Europe's Moroccan diaspora converge in Spain by car to cross the Straits of Gibraltar and return home either directly or via … Maritime travel to Spain, Gibraltar, and France remains restricted. Reply. This is our experience crossing the Morocco-Spain border on Saturday, 2 July 2016. Each day, thousands of “cargo women” risk their lives in stampedes and crowd surges on the Spain-Morocco border leaving Ceuta. Constructed by Spain, its purpose is to prevent smuggling and to stop migrants from entering Europe. With effect from 11pm on 30 March 2021, the Moroccan Government has suspended all flights until further notice between Morocco and France and Spain. The automated access points would allow cross-border workers to transit between Morocco and Spain without difficulties. I was refused entry to Spain at the Ceuta border, this left me with only one option! Weighed down with heavy bales, they live under the burden of exploitation, putting their health and their lives in danger. Pages in category "Morocco–Spain border" The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. Spain’s two North African enclaves, Melilla and Ceuta, are the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. Fattouma Chairi, 73, has been commuting across the border for half a century. Will we have to over night it in Melilla? Spain has a total land border of 1,191.7 miles long that is shared by five countries: Morocco, Andorra, France, Portugal, and Gibraltar. In the late 15th century, during the Christian reconquest (Reconquista) of Spain, civil war and state weakness in Morocco opened the way for Iberian expansion. "Since March, I … Ceuta is a tiny Spanish territory on the north coast of Morocco, 18 miles across the water from Gibraltar. Migrants sit atop a border fence separating Morocco from the north African Spanish enclave of Melilla in an attempt to jump. “They never wonder why the same EU gives Turkey so much more money to control its border with Europe,” Bennis observed. It is compounding wider economic misery for Morocco. Still, the main water sources that supply Ceuta and Melilla are located on the Moroccan side of the border. Some … Dashed hopes. Ceuta is legally Spain, which is why those traveling from the mainland can take a ferry over for about forty euro.Those going to Ceuta from Morocco, however, have to cross the land border.. Common issues Melilla, Spain, is a crossing point for many African migrants who are willing to risk their lives for a chance at a better life in Europe. However, ferries from Sete of France and Genoa of Italy are operating." This list may not reflect recent changes . An agreement between Morocco and Spain exempts cross-border workers from needing a visa. The Moroccan authorities have talked a lot about the need to regulate the informal sector. Spain will only open its borders with Morocco if there is a reciprocal agreement to let people travelling via Spain enter the North African country, Spanish government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero said on Tuesday. Not sure if you travel from Spain-Morocco by plane is allowed or not (considering your very first country of origin is Netherlands). In 1415, Portuguese forces took Ceuta, at the entrance to the Mediterranean, and they went on to occupy various fortresses on the Atlantic coast: Ksar es-Seghir (al-Qasr al-Saghir) in 1458 and Asila and Tangier in 1471. The Ceuta-Morocco border fence, as seen from Ceuta. Saturday 31/08/2019. “When Morocco serves as a gendarme for Spain… "Since March, I have not received a salary. Sunday 02/02/2020. Official figures predict the pandemic could push the country into its worst recession since … The Spanish government approved aid of $35.7 million to Rabat in addition to $28.8 million previously granted to Morocco. Nevertheless, Rabat has decided against opening the borders with Ceuta and Melilla which is causing tensions between Spain and Morocco to rise. These three exclaves form part of Spain's plazas de soberanía, which also includes a number of small islands off the Moroccan coast. Our party consisted of two people and two motorcycles. Is the border open 24 hrs 7 days, the ferry arrives late in the evening and we would prefer to stay in Nador to catch the arly train. The Ceuta border fence forms part of the Morocco–Spain border at Ceuta, a city on the North African coast. Morocco objected to the construction of the barrier since it does not recognize Spanish sovereignty in Ceuta. It is composed of multiple six-metre-high fences, webs of barbed wire and ditches, with frequent surveillance post that video monitor the entire length of the border. Border guards in Spain's northern African enclave of Melilla discovered the man - believed to be from Morocco - hiding inside a sack of toxic ash that was due to be shipped to the mainland. Morocco, Spain reactivate border control cooperation but migrants keep trying Saad Guerraoui . Morocco’s decision to close the border came after the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Spain soared to over 3,000 on Thursday. An agreement between Morocco and Spain exempts cross-border workers from needing a visa. Our party consisted of two people and two motorcycles. Morocco-Spain border closure leaves ‘mule women’ begging Impact of border closure could be significant on thousands of Moroccans who cross into Spanish enclave to get merchandise. Twitter Post: It is both incongruent and hypocritical for Spain to continue laying claim to Gibraltar while dismissing Morocco's claims to Ceuta and Melilla, and even denying the existence of a dispute between the countries over them. Spain holds sovereignty over three territorial exclaves on Africa's Mediterranean coast (Ceuta, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera and Melilla) as well as some smaller islands.All except Ceuta and Melilla are collectively referred to as the plazas de soberanía, and all territories are claimed by Morocco.. Rabat – The Spanish government began removing the wire fences planted along the 8.2-kilometer border of the Spanish enclave city of Ceuta with Morocco on Tuesday, December 3. The Morocco–Spain border consists of three non-contiguous lines totalling 18.5 km (11.5 m) around the Spanish territories of Ceuta (8 km), Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (75 metres) and Melilla (10.5 km). Thank you Answer 1 of 2: Coming to Fes from Malaga by way of Melilla/Nador. Hope that helps a bit. Border Name: Algeciras Closest major cities: Algeciras, Spain and Tangier, Morocco Costs: US$440.65 *Round-trip ferry ticket for one person with motorcycle US$116.84 *Insurance per motorcycle US$323.81 . Morocco-Spain border closure leaves ‘mule women’ begging Impact of border closure could be significant on thousands of Moroccans who cross into Spanish enclave to get merchandise. The border barrier separating Morocco from the tiny enclave of Melilla is one of the most heavily fortified in the world. Ceuta is an enclave on the Mediterranean leftover from Spain’s colonization of Morocco. Fattouma Chairi, 73, has been commuting across the border for half a century. I am stuck at home," she said. One crucial difference between the U.S.-Mexico border and Spain's southern border is that Europe's southern borders are, by and large, maritime borders (although the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla have land borders with Morocco). Crossing the Ceuta Border. Spain on Thursday (23 August) sent back to Morocco 116 migrants who had forced their way into the Spanish territory of Ceuta, in a mass expulsion condemned by human rights activists. China and Morocco may remain outside the list of third-countries the residents of which can enter the territory of Spain, though both of them have been ranked as epidemiologically ‘safe’ by the EU Council. "The border with the Spanish autonomous cities, Ceuta and Melilla, is closed. Melilla (US: / m ə ˈ l iː j ə / mə-LEE-yə, UK: / m ɛ ˈ-/ meh-; Spanish: ; Berber: Mlilt; Arabic: مليلية ‎) is a Spanish autonomous city located on the northwest coast of Africa, sharing a border with Morocco.It has an area of 12.3 km 2 (4.7 sq mi). Morocco closed the border with Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two North African enclaves, early on Friday (13 March) to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, officials said. More than 80 migrants have managed to scale the double frontier fence to enter Spain's North African city enclave of Melilla from Morocco.. The country also borders the Mediterranean Sea, the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean. Hundreds of migrants camp out for weeks and months in Moroccan territory just outside of both territories preparing to try to scale the border fences or, occasionally to swim along the coast. Melilla, an exclave, is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities in mainland Africa, the other being Ceuta.