In a potential turning point in relations between the Maghreb and Europe, Algeria’s Central Bank on Nov. 7 ordered a complete unfreezing of trade with Spain — after nearly 2.5 years of economic retaliation — in return for the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez endorsing Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

Morocco and its neighbor Algeria have been in a long-standing dispute over governance of Western Sahara. The conflict over the territory began in 1975, when colonial power Spain withdrew from it. Morocco claims Western Sahara as its own, while Algeria supports the desert region's Sahrawi independence movement, Polisario Front.

In March 2022, Sanchez upset Algerian officials when he described Morocco's autonomy proposal for Western Sahara as "the most serious, realistic, and credible basis" for resolving the conflict over the territory. 

Barely three months later, in June, the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions of Algeria (ABEF) applied for the “freezing of direct debits of foreign trade operations of products and services with origin and destination in Spain,” in retaliation for Madrid's support of Morocco’s autonomy plan. The ban included all products, apart from emergency goods and gas which were allowed by free transfer. Poultry products were unblocked in January of this year.