Spain and Morocco pledge joint action to stop new mass crossing at Ceuta
Spanish foreign minister says Morocco has pledged measures to prevent another large migrant surge at Ceuta, while Spain reinforces its border and warns against misinformation.
During the UN General Assembly in New York, Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said Morocco’s Naser Burita has promised to take necessary steps to avoid a new mass influx of migrants at the Ceuta border, coinciding with Morocco’s legislative elections. The interior ministry, led by Fernando Grande-Marlaska, had earlier deployed extra Guardia Civil reserve and security groups to strengthen the Ceuta-Melilla frontiers.
Albares cautioned against misinformation that irregular entry into Ceuta provides Schengen access and urged people in Morocco to seek guidance from official Spanish sources to avoid trafficking risks, praising Moroccan media for spreading the warning. Since early August, several hundred migrants have voluntarily returned to Morocco from Ceuta, and a meeting with Burita is scheduled in the United States to address those still in Ceuta.
The government also announced a €7 million project to extend the Tarajal breakwater, replacing the temporary floating barrier with a permanent structure. Meanwhile, the Consejo General del Poder Judicial reported 37 sexual-assault investigations opened in Ceuta between late July and mid-September, involving 30 female victims, including 11 minors.
Why it matters
The coordination aims to curb a new migrant surge at a key EU border and address related security and legal challenges.
How this story developed
- Aug 21 Spanish police detain five suspected migrant smugglers operating from Ceuta
- Sep 10 Regional economy minister asserted that the national government possessed advance intelligence on the Ceuta crossing and did not implement preventive measures.
- Sep 11 Czech and Hungarian leaders condemned the EU’s emergency aid for Ceuta.
- Sep 11 Gonzalo Sanz, chief of staff to the Government delegate in Ceuta, stepped down after receiving CNI alerts about a massive migrant arrival.
- Sep 12 A police‑commissioned report described Moroccan border police as unusually sparse and granting migrants “total permission.”
- Sep 13 Minister Sira Rego urged autonomous communities to assume responsibility for Ceuta’s unaccompanied minors.
- Sep 13 The foreign minister announced an urgent trip to Brussels for talks with EU officials.
- Sep 16 The Guardia Civil raided a cramped apartment on Real street in central Ceuta, finding 25 migrants - six of them minors - living in squalid conditions.
- Sep 18 The Audiencia Nacional's Contentious‑Administrative Chamber approved the use of Ceuta port for a temporary migrant shelter.
- Sep 18 The government and defence ministry secured an unprecedented public clarification from the CNI regarding the pre‑surge intelligence alert.
- Sep 18 about 850 migrants were settled in 50 tents at the port while others returned to beach camps
- Sep 19 The port camp filled within hours, leaving many migrants still without shelter on the streets and beaches.
- Sep 20 Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez publicly shifted blame onto Ceuta mayor Juan Jesús Vivas during a press encounter, intensifying the political dispute.
- Sep 22 Morocco pledged to block a mass crossing on its election day.
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