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Migration crisis in Ceuta ‘a violation of Spanish territorial sovereignty’
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez calls last night’s escalation “an attack and a violation of Spain’s territorial sovereignty.”
He calls it “deplorable,” and says it deserves “our strongest possible condemnation.”
He says the government will use “all the mechanisms and resources available to the state” to resolve the situation.
Key events
Ceuta crisis may be linked to diplomatic issues between Spain and Morocco – snap analysis
Alex Olorenshaw
There is also a further diplomatic angle to the current crisis.
Morocco’s authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the flow of migrants, and it is not yet clear what prompted the surge in crossings or how hard authorities on the Moroccan side tried to prevent it.
However, it could be linked to the rivalry between Morocco and Algeria, and a recent trip by the Spanish prime minister to Algiers.
The last mass border crossing, in May 2021, took place after Morocco loosened border controls during a diplomatic row with Spain over Spain’s decision to allow the leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, the Polisario Front, to be treated for Covid-19 in Spain.
Morocco and the Polisario Front both lay claim to Western Sahara, which was under Spanish rule until 1975, when colonial authorities handed over the territory to Morocco and Mauritania.
That diplomatic crisis ended in 2022 when Madrid reversed its longstanding policy of neutrality and backed Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara – a move that had caused a diplomatic rift between Madrid and Algiers, which had supported the Polisario group.
The Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez visited Algiers on 20 July – the first such visit by a Spanish head of government in four years – marking a thaw in relations with Algeria.
Sánchez blames human trafficking gangs for ‘violations’ in Ceuta
Sánchez’s line is clear: the migration crisis in Ceuta is a violation of Spain’s territorial sovereignty, driven by human traffickers wilfully misleading migrants about the legal situation following a recent ruling by the Spanish supreme court.
He says human traffickers are spreading a “self-serving” and misleading interpretation of the Spanish supreme court’s recent ruling on push backs to drive migratory flows.
The court said earlier this month that immediate returns of migrants crossing the border illegally did not apply to those arriving by sea – but with some important caveats.
Sánchez’s fully intends to confront the gangs over that and protect Spain’s internal security, just as the government would over in Madrid, he says.
The authorities will further adapt the border – for example, introducing more visible barriers to mark the border; a point specifically mentioned in the court’s ruling – to further tighten their case vis a vis the court’s ruling and thus enable repatriations.
Making the most of Ceuta’s unique geographical position – or to put it bluntly, that they have nowhere further to go – the migrants will be told to return across the border or face formal proceedings.
The government will also look at whether it needs to change some laws to guarantee the repatriation of those involved.
In the Q&A, Sánchez gets asked about his expected timeline for resolving the crisis.
He says local police and border forces have been instructed to tell migrants to withdraw and cross the border back to Morocco.
At the same time, they will expedite the process for formal expulsions where needed.
Sánchez ends his statement repeating his commitment to respond to the situation, so that “Ceuta can urgently return to normal life.”
He says Spain will “defend the security and social harmony in Ceuta” just as it would in Madrid.
He also says the Spanish government will look into how it can help small businesses that felt they were forced to temporarily close as a result of the challenges related to the current crisis.
Spain to set up temporary centre in Ceuta to send back migrants with no legal claim, says Sánchez
Sánchez says a temporary reception centre will be established to facilitate documentation, registration, triage and “expedited” expulsion of people with no legal claim to be in Spain.
He says the government will also add a visible barrier – a line of buoys – near the breakwater to make it clear where the border is to legally comply with the court’s ruling.
He says this will help with border repatriations while fully complying with the court’s decision – as he notes that many of them are already voluntarily leaving.
He says Spain will work closely with Morocco on this.
Sánchez says the recent Spanish supreme court ruling on people intercepted while trying to enter Ceuta and Melilla by sea appeared to have driven the mass crossing.
He says a “self-serving” interpretation of the ruling has “spread like wildfire” within human trafficking networks, with a “surge” in attempted crossings after the ruling.
He says the current crisis is in sharp contrast to the government’s sustained success in reducing irregular migration.
Migration crisis in Ceuta ‘a violation of Spanish territorial sovereignty’
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez calls last night’s escalation “an attack and a violation of Spain’s territorial sovereignty.”
He calls it “deplorable,” and says it deserves “our strongest possible condemnation.”
He says the government will use “all the mechanisms and resources available to the state” to resolve the situation.
Spain’s Sánchez address media on migration crisis in Ceuta
Sánchez is speaking now.
I will bring you the key lines here.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is now in Ceuta, accompanied by interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
He first visited the Tarajal border crossing, and is now talking to officials from local authorities, border and police services.
We are expecting to hear from him in the coming hour.
Spain needs to ‘act swiftly to regain control of the situation,’ Swedish PM says
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson is the latest European leader to respond to the events unfolding in Ceuta.
In a post on X, he urged Spain to “act swiftly to regain control of the situation and fulfil its commitments within Schengen cooperation.”
“If the developments were to risk affecting Sweden’s security or migration situation, the government is prepared to take the measures required to safeguard order and control,” he added.
Finnish interior minister Mari Rantanen said that as “Spain has completely failed to protect the Schengen Area’s external border,” all EU countries should support Italy’s proposal to suspend its Schengen status.
“Countries that do not fulfil their obligation to protect the external border cannot be members of Schengen,” she said.
Dutch interior minister Tom Berendsen called the events in Cueta “concerning.”
“We are counting on Spain to do what is necessary to protect the EU’s external borders and on Morocco also taking the necessary steps,” he added.
We are getting some more pictures from Ceuta, showing the people who arrived last night waiting in parts of the city with El Mundo reporting long queues at local supermarkets.
But also there are reports that some migrants are choosing to return to Morocco.
Local police in Ceuta are fencing off the centre of the enclave as Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to visit in the coming hours, public broadcaster RTVE reported.
Sánchez is set to get there just before midday local time (11am UK).
Spanish King Felipe VI spoke by telephone with prime minister Pedro Sánchez and Ceuta’s president Juan Jesús Vivas to discuss the unfolding crisis, the Royal Household said.
France to strengthen controls at French-Spanish border in response to Ceuta crossings, minister says
And France’s interior minister Laurent Nuñez has just said the government will do exactly that.
In a post on X, he said:
“In response to the situation observed in the Ceuta enclave, I gave instructions as of last night to immediately strengthen the controls at the Spanish border. Furthermore, I am activating the Rapid Intervention Border Force for in-depth checks.”
Le Pen, Barnier call for France to strengthen border controls in response to Spain migration crisis
The crisis also prompted some strong reactions in France.
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said:
“Faced with the massive and coordinated influx of migrants into Spain, encouraged by the Spanish government, France must without delay strengthen controls at its borders. And in 2027, we will put an end to this madness by reserving Schengen free movement for EU nationals.”
Former prime minister Michel Barnier struck a fairly similar tone:
“The European Union now has an essential tool thanks to the advances achieved by the @EPP & @fxbellamy in the European Parliament with the new return directive.
It is time to move from texts to action: every person in an irregular situation who is not meant to stay must be effectively returned.
France cannot suffer the consequences of its neighbours’ migration choices. If a Member State makes decisions that create a pull factor for migration, we must be able to immediately protect our borders, particularly with Spain.
Mastering immigration is a condition of sovereignty, security, and trust between European states. The rules exist: they must be applied firmly, in the interest of France and Europe.”
Spanish opposition calls on Sánchez to ‘defend our national security’
Sam Jones
in Madrid
The opposition People’s party (PP) is calling on Sánchez to produce a swift and tough response, saying the small military and police reinforcements announced last night are insufficient.
The PP’s leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, is not dialling down his language.
“People have continued to arrive in Ceuta throughout the night, and those on the ground describe an occupied city, with nothing sufficient being done to prevent it,” he’s just posted on X.
“In Melilla, too, around 400 irregulars have entered. I insist that Sánchez must defend our national security, our territorial integrity, and our coexistence.
As prime minister, he has instruments and means at his disposal, and all that remains is for him to give the orders.
As serious as what is happening is the fact that the Government is reacting with this weakness. All of Spain stands with Ceuta and Melilla.”
The far-right Vox party, meanwhile, is calling the influx “an invasion”.
49,000 people believed to cross into Ceuta, more than half of its population
Sam Jones
in Madrid
The Spanish interior ministry has just said that more than 49,000 people are believed to have swum or walked into Ceuta over the past 24 hours.
That, obviously is a huge number, and dwarves the 10,000 people who entered the territory during the border crisis in 2021.
That mass crossing came amid heightened tensions between Madrid and Rabat over Spain’s decision to allow a western Sahara independence leader to be treated for Covid-19 in Spain.
To give some perspective, the population of Ceuta is around 85,000.
The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is en route to Ceuta, where he is expected to visit the Tarajal border and speak to the media some time after midday local time.
Morning opening: Spain faces migration crisis in north African enclave of Ceuta
Jakub Krupa
At least 18 people died as thousands of migrants breached the Spanish-Moroccan border in Ceuta yesterday, prompting concerns about a fresh migration crisis and questions over the implications for the European Union.
A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil force, which polices Spain’s borders, said the migrants were “massively entering from the sea” through the Tarajal breakwater, but could not provide an estimate of the numbers.
Spain’s interior minister said on Friday that it estimated some 49,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta over the past 24 hours.
More people were reported crossing into the enclave over night, with Spanish media reporting “passivity” from the Moroccan police.
In response, the Spanish government is deploying extra troops and police officers to protect the border between the tiny African enclave and neighbouring Morocco. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to visit the territory later today.
But the fresh migration crisis sparked also a conflict within the European Union as Italian authorities demanded Spain to be suspended from open border Schengen area until they restore control.
In a rare direct clash between two EU countries, Italy’s far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni angrily said that pictures coming from Ceuta demonstrated that “uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe’s borders.”
“Italy will not stand by and watch. … We are prepared to intervene with extraordinary measures to defend the borders and the safety of citizens, including the suspension of the Schengen Area with Spain,” she said.
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani backed her calls, saying he was in favour of Spain’s suspension, and linking the migration crisis with a recent decision with the Spanish government’s decision to regularise over 500,000 undocumented migrants resident in Spain.
In response, Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said the Italian comments were “unbecoming of a foreign minister of a partner and friendly country” dismissing them as “partisan demagoguery,” and said he would summon the Italian ambassador to Madrid on Friday.
Instead, he linked the influx of migrants with a recent decision by Spain’s supreme court saying that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla could not be summarily returned under the enclaves’ special border rejection regime.
I will bring you all the updates as the day progresses.
It’s Friday, 31 July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
