A Spain the Maghrebi diplomatic puzzle chokes him. The end of the crisis with Morocco caused a dispute with the neighbor Algeria due to the change of Spanish position on the Occidental Sahara. Relations between Madrid and Algiers have been frozen for six months. so is he trade: “Everything stays the same”, lament the businessmen. The customs Algerian companies continue to veto products of Spanish origin and banks do not domicile the invoices of these companies.
Since the crisis began, the Spanish ceramic glazes industry it has lost some 70 million euros of turnover, according to sources in the sector. For these factories, concentrated above all in CastellonAlgeria was its second market after Italy. They explain that customs are blocking their shipments and they fear that if Algerian customers look for alternative suppliers it will be difficult to recover the market if the crisis is resolved at some point.
“This is added to the problem with respect to the costs energeticwhich are directly reducing the competitiveness and profitability of our companies”, laments Manuel Breva, General Secretary of the ANFFECC, the association that brings together Spanish producers of frits, glazes and ceramic colours. They explain that they have asked the Spanish authorities seek an urgent solution, but for now nothing has changed.
“Algeria was a country in which we had a large presence and we had growth expectations,” explains Fernando Garai, general director of Vitrinor, a Cantabrian kitchenware company. six months after trade blockadeThey practically give up on this market. Garai explains that they have been looking for alternatives to continue working in Algeria, but that it has been impossible. “We manufacture the product in Spain, and even if it is exported by a company from another country, the Algerian customs ask for the certificate of origin. If the product is Spanish, it almost certainly does not enter the country,” laments the businessman.
The diplomatic crisis
According to him Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spain continues to extend its hand to Algeria, although they explain that, for the moment, there has been no response. Algiers was annoyed by the approach of the Spanish Government to Morocco, and especially the letter sent by the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchezto the monarch Mohamed VI, in which he stated that Morocco’s proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara was the “most serious, credible and realistic basis” for resolving the conflict. This letter, sent in April, closed the crisis with Morocco, but opened another with Algeria. The two North African countries maintain a historical dispute and currently have broken diplomatic relations.
The Algerian authorities decided to suspend the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborhood and Cooperation with Spain six months ago and described as “unjustifiable” the change of Spanish position. Algeria also decided to freeze the direct debits of Spanish companies in your country with the aim of suspending the commercial activities of these companies. A decision that caused a stir, even the European Union was against it. The Algerian Foreign Ministry itself denied that economic reprisals had been taken, although in practice Spanish companies are still unable to operate normally.
“There’s a stagnation between Madrid and Algiers”, explains Laurence Thieux, professor of International Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid. In addition, he considers that “Spain continues to be clumsy with Algeria, it has not made strong symbolic gestures nor has it sought any rapprochement at key moments, such as the celebration of Algerian independence”.
the future of gas
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Thieux explains that in the current context of the conflict in UkraineAlgeria is seen as a valued country and many governments have tried to approach Algiers for its gas potential. This has also caused the Algerian authorities to no longer see Spain among the priority countries, since they have many other alternatives, defends the expert. Italy, for example, has established itself as Algeria’s main European trading partner. In the last year, the Algerian public company, sonatrach, has signed up to five contracts with various Italian companies. They have even launched the joint exploitation of two gas wells.
Although during the crisis one of the biggest fears that Algeria would turn off the tap on the gasUltimately it hasn’t happened. The concern is now a possible price rise of this hydrocarbon in the future. The Spanish naturgyis currently negotiating gas prices with Algeria for 2023, although for now it is unknown how the talks are progressing, since the energy company defines it as a “confidential matter”.