On June 8, Algeria suspended its Friendship and Neighborliness Treaty with Spain, in response to Madrid’s recent alignment with Morocco on the Western Sahara conflict. While the suspension of the treaty so far excludes contracts for gas, of which Algeria is Spain’s biggest supplier, it could jeopardize relations with the European Union. But with the change in Madrid’s position, Algeria felt it had to act to send a message, even if it comes at considerable cost.
At first glance, the tensions might come as a surprise. Algeria should be riding high from the recent increase in global gas prices that has left the country flush with cash and reinforced its value as the third-largest gas exporter to Europe. Yet, this represents the single bright spot among a litany of challenges the country faces on both the domestic and regional fronts, with the latter stemming from a string of Moroccan advances in the geopolitical arena. Among these is the recognition by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2020 of Morocco’s claim over the Western Sahara territory; a series of alleged drone strikes carried out by Morocco against the Polisario—the independence movement that opposes Morocco’s claim to the Western Sahara—which have caused Algerian causalities; and most unsettling of all to Algiers, Morocco’s burgeoning relationship with Israel.