Spanish monarchs to host civil society representatives from Ceuta and Melilla at palace reception

During a visit scheduled for the middle of October, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will welcome civil-society actors from Ceuta and Melilla to the customary palace reception, a practice previously reserved for disaster-affected groups. Their program also includes private meetings with local officials to address the ongoing migration pressure and security challenges at the Tarajal crossing. The trip comes after the king’s state visit to Finland, where Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb publicly expressed solidarity over the situation in Ceuta.

Sources say the agenda, still being finalised, will feature discussions with religious leaders, reflecting the roughly 40% Muslim population in the two enclaves. Additional activities may involve a school visit in Ceuta, while security forces have recently cleared crowded beaches and facilitated voluntary returns of migrants to Morocco. The visit is set against the backdrop of the government’s announced early election, prompting adjustments to the royal plan.