Algeria aims to counteract Moroccan pressure on Spain

Significance

Earlier this month, Algiers suspended a 2002 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation with Spain, as well as imports from Spain -- though there was some confusion about the latter. Bilateral relations soured after Madrid backed Morocco’s position on the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Impacts

• Spain and the EU have been conceding to Moroccan pressure over the years, which will convince Algeria to adopt similar methods to Morocco.
• Algeria will stay tied to European energy markets due to prolonged underinvestment in its upstream and downstream infrastructure.
• Algiers will continue to buy Russian arms and to be ideologically sympathetic to China’s worldview.