Opposition pressures Sanchez to justify diplomatic shift in favor of Morocco

Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, will be heard on June 8 by deputies in the plenary session of the Lower House to explain the new stage in relations with Morocco and its impact on ties with Algeria, according to Spanish agency EFE.

This move comes as a response to the Spanish People’s Party’s request, with the presence of other parliamentary groups, including the majority, and opposition.

The Popular party demands explanations ahead of the “new partnership for the 21st century” established during Sanchez’s visit to Rabat, and its impact on its relation with Algeria, the main supplier of gas to Spain, added the same source.

The Spanish party fears that the strengthening of relations with Morocco will impact ties with Algeria, especially after an Algeria-Italy deal to forge closer ties.

Algeria officially closed by the end of October the Maghreb Europe Gas Pipeline that’s been supplying gas to Morocco and Spain for 25 years, in a move that is deepening the crisis that plagues Moroccan and Algerian relations in recent years.

Algerian authorities threatened Spain in April about cutting off its supply through the gas pipeline that directly connects both countries via the Mediterranean (Medgaz), if Spanish authorities send gas to Morocco through the GME gas pipeline.

Spain then denied that it is going to sell Algerian natural gas to Morocco, with the Foreign Affairs Minister, Jose Manuel Albares claiming that relations with both countries are not incompatible.

Additionally, Prime Minister Sanchez is also expected to hold talks about the Pegasus spying case on his phone as well as other government members.

Earlier in May, the Spanish government announced that the phones of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles were subjected to “external” and “illegal” wiretaps using the Israeli Pegasus software, reported AFP.

A data leak from within the Pegasus Spyware project revealed that over 200 Spanish officials’ phones had been compromised in a spying attempt, as the Sanchez government refuses to speculate on the potential client, alleged to be Morocco.