EU steps up fight against disinformation instead of confronting Rabat
Spain has asked fellow European governments to avoid publicly criticising Morocco for its role in the Ceuta migration crisis, according to three sources.
Madrid made its request to silence any negative messaging about Rabat when interior ministers met online on Tuesday, with many asking how it was possible that 72,000 people could have entered the Spanish territory in North Africa in such a short space of time.
Spain’s appeal underscores the EU’s desire not to antagonise a key partner that will remain crucial to managing migration flows into Europe in the future. Rabat has also long been an EU ally on counterterrorism and intelligence-sharing.
Asked at a press conference on Tuesday who was at fault for triggering the crisis, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain’s interior minister, said: “There doesn’t necessarily have to be anyone to blame.” Aside from a veiled reference by the defence minister, Spain has avoided public criticism of Rabat.
