Message to Morocco

Betty Henderson

IN a diplomatic showdown, the Spanish government has officially voiced its anger with Morocco’s assertion that Ceuta and Melilla are Moroccan cities.

Diplomatic sources revealed on Thursday, June 1 that Spain sent a formal letter of complaint, known as a ‘note verbale’, to Morocco, vehemently rejecting the language used in a letter from Morocco addressed to Brussels.

In the note verbale, the Spanish government emphasised that the international community widely recognises Spanish borders, including these two autonomous cities, located in North Africa.

The letter, which targeted Margaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission, criticised his statements affirming the Spanish identity of these au ­ tonomous cities.

Morocco’s letter, which was revealed by Spanish newspaper El País , cited a series of what it perceived as 10 ‘hostile declarations’ made by Schinas regarding Morocco and ‘the Moroccan cities of Ceuta and Melilla’.