Spanish parliament rejects far-right push to force Morocco's recognition of Ceuta, Melilla

Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Spain's Congress of Deputies yesterday overwhelmingly rejected the proposal by Vox, calling on the government to force Morocco to recognize Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta, Melilla, Chafarinas, Alhucemas, Vélez de la Gomera, and Perejil.

All groups, including the Popular Party (PP), which is known for its similar stance on sovereignty issues, voted against the non-binding proposal. The far-left Sumar coalition denounced it as a new attempt by the far-right formation to create an «artificial problem». Socialist MPs called the Vox proposal «populism that seeks enemies everywhere». For its part, the PP described the text by Santiago Abascal's followers as «incoherent».

This setback is not a precedent. On November 22, 2021, the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee had already rejected a similar proposal from Vox.

This latest rejection comes as Vox continues to lose ground. The latest poll, carried out at the beginning of March, showed that the far-right formation's voting intentions were down 1.2 points compared with an opinion survey conducted in February 2024.