The Spanish authorities have returned to demanding that Moroccan international transport professionals respect the European agreements regarding the quantities of fuel allowed to be available when entering the land area of the “Schengen” area, after they overlooked the matter during the past two years.
The Spanish authorities, especially in the port of Algeciras, tightened control over the tanks of Moroccan trucks during last April and this May, issuing violations against Moroccan professionals who have more than 200 liters of gasoline in the tanks, a quantity that the Madrid authorities confirm should not be exceeded. .
According to documents obtained by Hespress, the fines issued against Moroccan professionals ranged between 300 and 500 euros, which are imposed directly at the port level in order to allow the recovery of the identification documents for departure, with emphasis on the necessity of refueling from Spanish stations.
Moroccan professionals reject this measure, which the Madrid authorities are implementing “unilaterally,” given that it “does not serve the Moroccan economy, while it explicitly serves the Spanish economy, affects the total hard currency in the country, and can open the door to problems for professionals with the exchange office.”
The Spanish authorities believe that supplying more than 200 liters of Moroccan fuel amounts to “smuggling it and avoiding the consumption of Iberian fuel,” while Moroccan international transport professionals confirm that “the availability of sufficient fuel remains necessary, given the long distance required to be traveled within the European continent as a whole.”
The European agreement, which dates back to 1992, remained not implemented on the Spanish territory specifically during the previous years, before it was activated in 2020, and then the intensity of its application was reduced since 2022, to return to its application this year, which left Moroccan professionals facing fines and violations. Even before delving into European soil.
In response to the issue, Al-Sharqi Al-Hashimi, the regional secretary of the General Union of Transport in Souss-Massa, said, “Administrative procedures at the level of Spanish ports are usually carried out well, especially at the level of Algeciras Port. However, later the focus is placed by authorities affiliated with the port on the size of the port.” The fuel that trucks have in their tanks, as fines are issued if it exceeds two hundred litres.”
Al-Hashemi added, in a statement to Hespress, that “European law was talking about small tanks that trucks had in 1992, while today they hold between 1,200 and 1,500 liters, including reserve tanks,” pointing out that “through these measures, the Spanish authorities are pushing professionals to consume Spanish fuel instead of Moroccan, in a manner similar to coercion.”
He continued: “More than 500 Moroccan trucks leave the national territory every day; This means that it is a very profitable calculation for the Spanish economy at the expense of its Moroccan counterpart, while Moroccan gas stations are the first to benefit from these quantities of fuel that professionals are willing to supply.”
The same spokesman stated that “supplying more than a ton of Spanish fuel means paying significant sums of money in euros, which will harm the Moroccan economy and will open the door to problems for professionals in front of the exchange office, especially since providing these sums in euros is very difficult,” explaining that “Moroccan professionals are not limited to On their professional trips to Spain, they even tour European soil as a whole and do not find any problems.”
The same professional actor stated that “acquiring fuel in Spain directly means losing revenues related mainly to the value-added tax (TVA), as the authorities there do not facilitate the process of recovering these amounts, unlike what is the case in other countries,” pointing out that “the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Logistics are required to intervene.” In order to urgently protect Moroccan international transport professionals from Spanish restrictions.”