Spain’s Senate committee backs call to revive maritime talks with Morocco

A committee of Spain’s Senate on Thursday approved a nonbinding motion calling on the government to reactivate a working group tasked with determining maritime boundaries between Spain and Morocco and to seek international recognition of the Canary Islands as a full archipelago under international maritime law.

The motion, submitted by the Senate’s Plural Parliamentary Group, was approved with 35 votes in favor, 18 against and one abstention after lawmakers agreed on an amendment.

The initiative was originally submitted in March 2024 by Sen. Aniceto Javier Armas González of the Herreña Independent Group, who called for progress on defining the Canary Islands’ maritime boundaries with Morocco.

The proposal argues that the issue has growing geopolitical, economic and environmental importance, citing the discovery of deposits of tellurium, cobalt and rare earth elements in the vicinity of the Tropic of Cancer seamount, an area in the Atlantic Ocean that is also of interest to Morocco and Spain.

The Senate document says the delimitation of the Canary Islands’ maritime waters has remained unresolved in the context of Spain-Morocco relations and argues that determining the islands’ maritime boundaries has particular economic and geopolitical significance.

The motion calls on the Spanish government to reactivate the working group dealing with maritime boundaries between the two countries, with the participation of representatives of the Canary Islands government.

It also calls for international agreements to establish the maritime delimitation and for the Canary Islands to be recognized internationally as an archipelago with the rights provided under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Speaking before the committee, Armas González said the proposal had two main objectives: advancing maritime delimitation talks with Morocco while ensuring the Canary Islands have an active role in the process, and promoting international recognition of the islands’ status.

He also highlighted the strategic importance of the waters around the islands because of their potential mineral resources.

“The maritime area is particularly important today because it contains strategic resources,” Armas González said, referring to deposits near the Tropic of Cancer. He argued that securing access to critical raw materials would help Europe diversify its supplies.

The proposal also argues that Spain’s position should take into account its 2010 legislation concerning Canary Islands waters and subsequent provisions incorporated into the islands’ autonomy framework. It notes that Spain submitted a request to the United Nations in 2009 concerning an extension of its exclusive economic zone west of the Canary Islands.

The maritime boundary issue has remained sensitive in Spain-Morocco relations. The two countries have yet to reach a bilateral agreement establishing the relevant maritime boundaries in the area.

The motion’s approval by the Senate committee does not itself establish a maritime boundary or alter the legal status of the waters. It instead calls on the Spanish government to resume diplomatic and technical work on the issue.

The proposal comes as Spain and Morocco continue to manage a broad range of bilateral issues, including trade, migration, security and territorial questions.