The Coordinate Institute organized this Wednesday in Madrid a conference on the Maghreb in the geopolitical context of the war in Ukraine. The event was attended by leading experts and opinion leaders, who analyzed the implications of the war in Ukraine for the Maghreb region and its impact on the stability and security of Spain and the European Union.
The conclusions of the conference highlighted the “worrying” magnitude of the war in Ukraine and its global reach, as well as the repercussions that this Russian aggression has in the Maghreb and throughout the West. highlighted the strategy of the Russian-Chinese-Iranian bloc to corner Europe from different fronts, including the eastern flank and its growing presence in strategic infrastructures and in the southern Mediterranean arc.
The experts also analyzed the geopolitical collaboration between Russia, Algeria and Iran, which seeks to destabilize the Maghreb region and considered that it represents a direct threat to Spain and the European Union. Emphasis was placed on the need to take appropriate measures to counteract this situation and safeguard the stability and security of the region.
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The speakers urged the community bloc to reconsider its policy towards the Maghreb, especially strengthening ties with Morocco; a partner whom they considered compromised in their agreements with the European Commission.
In addition, it was highlighted that the The autonomy plan proposed by Morocco for the Sahara constitutes a realistic and effective solution to provide stability to the region, since, according to experts, Russia’s ability to destabilize the Maghreb would be greatly reduced. In this sense, the 27 Member States were called upon to support this proposal with the aim of strengthening both shores of the Mediterranean.
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In the words of the Popular Party MEP Antonio López-Istúriz: “Russia has spent years exerting a strategic clamp on Europe, controlling the eastern border and increasing its influence in the south in the Sahara and Sahel.” López-Istúriz also noted the Iran’s infiltration of the Sahara and Sahel regionincluding the supply of combat drones to the Polisario Front, as a threat that the European Union must address.
Likewise, the Italian MEP from Movement 5 Stelle Fabio Massimo Castaldo stressed the importance of radically rethinking the partnership approach with the Maghreb and avoid double standards in relationships. He stressed the need to continue promoting and supporting democratic reforms in all partner countries, “particularly in the case of Algeria where the human rights situation is very worrying.”
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The conference has allowed a deep reflection on the current situation and has drawn attention to the need to take immediate measures to counter the threats posed by the war in Ukraine in the geopolitical context of the Maghreb. They warned that the stability and security of Spain, the European Union and the “free world” are at stake and consider it crucial to act in a coordinated and forceful manner to face these challenges.
Among the speakers were the colonel in the Spanish Army reserve Fernando Fernández Aguirre; the deputy director of the General Gutiérrez Mellado University Institute, Fernando García Blázquez, or the cybersecurity expert and businessman Álvaro Fernández de Aráoz Gómez de Acebo, among other panelists as well as two MEPs.
