The director of the Ceuta and Melilla Observatory and professor of International Relations at UNED, Carlos Echeverría, believes that the upcoming visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to the autonomous cities should also serve to "overcome" the perception of weakness that, in his opinion, has conditioned relations with Morocco for years.

The Observatory has received the news of Their Majesties' visit to both autonomous cities with deep satisfaction, hoping that this presence will be maintained over time.

In statements to El Faro, Echeverría argued that the presence of the Kings in Melilla and Ceuta should be taken as normal and that any reaction from the neighboring country should not determine the Spanish institutional agenda. At the same time, he insisted that Spain must convey to its citizens and to Europe as a whole that this visit will take place in two Spanish cities.

"The kings are going to Ceuta and Melilla, and if the neighbor gets upset, that's their problem. Morocco should not have reasons to feel upset and should act like a good neighbor."

The director of the Observatory has considered that for too long, excessive attention has been paid to how the neighboring country might react to certain decisions related to Melilla and Ceuta.

"When we dwell too much on this, asking ourselves, 'What are they going to do to us?'—even though it seems innocuous—we are also showing weakness."

In this regard, Echeverría hopes that the visit of the Kings will mark a turning point and lead to "new rules" in the relationship with Morocco.

"The important thing is that the visit will take place; it will be very pleasant and very necessary, and then it will continue, but with new rules."

The Ceuta and Melilla Observatory has welcomed the announcement of the Kings' visit.

Two decades since the last royal visit and the first since Felipe VI began his reign, Echeverría advocates for "looking forward" and, above all, for normalizing this type of travel, expressing confidence that the Kings can visit the autonomous cities more frequently.

Echeverría has reminded that the Kings also plan to visit the northern border of Europe. However, he wanted to make it clear that the trip to Ceuta and Melilla will take place beforehand.

"It would have been serious if they had gone to another demanding border, such as that of Finland with Russia, and had not visited ours."

Regarding the Spanish attitude when planning royal visits to both autonomous cities, the director of the Observatory lamented that there has always been a "traditional submission" to what the neighboring country might think or do, when the internal and external policy of a state corresponds precisely to that state itself.

Therefore, Echeverría stated that the crisis in Ceuta, which he describes as an "invasion," has contributed to taking the present and future of relations with Morocco more seriously.

"We need to start growing up once and for all."

The director of the Observatory has recalled that this organization has been demanding greater institutional presence in Melilla and Ceuta for years. Echeverría pointed out that visits from state representatives to Melilla and Ceuta have traditionally been linked to exceptional circumstances, as occurred after the migratory crisis in May 2021 in Ceuta. In his view, after those episodes, the cities would again fall off the institutional agenda.

"It's as if it were a sin to set foot in a corner of Spain like Melilla, which is just as Spanish as Asturias or anywhere else."

Regarding the possible reaction of Morocco to the visit, Echeverría has avoided making predictions, considering that any analysis must start from the current context, while acknowledging that Morocco has various tools to exert pressure on Spain and Europe.

Among them, he pointed to possible movements related to migratory flows, although he believes that a large-scale measure does not necessarily have to occur. He also mentioned the use of certain actors, such as the Ceuta and Melilla Liberation Committee or the "controlled" media of the neighboring country to generate pressure around the visit.

Echeverría warned, however, that any possible reaction should not be interpreted as a reason to condition the Spanish agenda. He has insisted that the fundamental issue is to avoid having the debate permanently focus on what Morocco can do in response to each Spanish decision.

In this sense, he believes that Spain should approach the relationship with the neighboring country from a position of normality and with different rules of behavior, although he also highlighted that there are numerous areas where Spain and Morocco can maintain shared interests.

"Between Morocco and Spain, there are and can continue to be many shared interests, but with totally different rules of behavior on their part. They must renounce that inappropriate and unfriendly territorial demand."

The entry "The Ceuta and Melilla Observatory calls to leave behind the 'weakness' before Morocco with the visit of the Kings" first appeared in El Faro de Melilla.