Deteriorating Spain-Algeria Relations Endangering Energy and Migration Cooperation

In March 2022, the Spanish government changed its position in regards to the Western Sahara, a semi-independent territory west of Morocco that has been the site of extended conflict between the Moroccan government and the pro-independence Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). The Spanish government announced that it now supports Morocco’s plan for providing increased autonomy to the territory but still having it under Moroccan control -- angering the SADR and its ally Algeria. This led to a deterioration in relations between Madrid and Algiers to the point that, on June 8, Algeria suspended a two-decades long treaty of friendship and economic cooperation with Spain. Although this decision was reversed in late July, it continues to affect economic trade and migration governance between the two countries.

Energy availability and access is a crucial part of the bilateral relationship between Spain and Algeria. The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has led to increased energy prices throughout Europe as Russia has long been a main supplier of natural gas to the continent. Due to the invasion decreasing the available natural gas supply, Spain and the rest of the European Union (EU) have looked to expand other existing energy supply routes like the one from Algeria. Algeria exports a majority of its natural gas to Europe — with Spain and Italy combined receiving 65 percent of the country’s natural gas exports in 2021.

The Madrid-Rabat-Algiers relationship has significantly deteriorated in the past year.  In August 2021, Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco as part of ongoing disputes and disagreements stretching back almost three decades. Spain entered itself into this dispute by offering to assist Morocco to increase its natural gas supplies, refine them on Spanish soil, and send them back to Morocco for domestic consumption. However, this angered Algeria because this would encroach on their natural gas shipments to Spain and over fear that Algerian natural gas could be sent to Morocco via Spanish refineries.

Spain’s desire to work with Rabat on increasing its energy security is seen as an attempt to ensure migrant control cooperation with the North African kingdom and prevent past incidents where Morocco encouraged migrants to irregularly enter Spain as a way to signal displeasure with Madrid. Given the existence of two Spanish enclave cities located on the African continent, Ceuta and Melilla, and the extended conflict between the two countries over who the rightful owner should be, this is a major facet of the bilateral relationship. However, the tightening of relations between Spain and Morocco has irritated Algeria to the point where it is now taking a page out of Morocco’s playbook (at least in the eyes of the Spanish) and implicitly or explicitly encouraging migrants to enter Spanish territory – with an increasing number of Algerians now arriving in Spain over the past summer.

In June, Spain’s National Intelligence Center (Centro Nacional de Inteligencia or CNI) warned of a drastic influx of Algerian irregular migrants attempting to enter the country and estimated the number could reach 10,000. Numbers collected in 2022 have already exceeded those from 2021, with 907 Algerians irregularly reaching Spain in one weekend between September 9 and 11, 2022. Given that one of the facets of the Spain-Algeria friendship treaty suspended in June was immigration control, the increases in the numbers of Algerians arriving in Spain in recent weeks could be a result of the lack of immigration inspection on Algerian soil. Although there is no way for that to be definitely proven, Algerian officials had already signaled their reluctance to cooperate with Spanish authorities following Spain’s announcement of its change of position regarding Western Sahara when it refused to allow Spain to return irregular Algerian migrants.   

However, these increases in the numbers of Algerians arriving in Spain may not only be the result of government policy. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world including Algeria which reported almost 7,000 deaths. This, in addition to the lack of economic opportunity in the country, has led people of all ages and backgrounds to seek better lives in Europe and could explain the increase in irregular migration overall from the country in recent years.

These multifaceted problems will require multifaceted solutions. However, Madrid should take the lead in mending these relations as its success (or failure) will most impact its energy security and migration enforcement regime. Madrid should act as a mediating body between Algiers and Rabat and ensure both countries see the benefits to cooperation over animosity. Since both countries hold large reserves of natural gas—although Morocco has been slower at capitalizing on these resources than Algeria—and the high prices that could be demanded as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent ceasing of Russian gas shipments, both countries stand to gain handsomely from this situation. Although history has shown Morocco-Algeria relations to be unsteady over the past three decades, Spain, by working to smooth over tensions between the two countries, could secure alliances with two important allies in North Africa while decreasing irregular migration from the region and increasing its own energy security. It is in Spain’s self-interest to act swiftly, but it still remains to be seen if it will do so or what results will arise from such action. 

Author: Joshua Rodriguez

Managing Editor: Aidan Christopherson

Web Editor: Isaiah Nielsen