EU says no onward movement from Spanish enclave of Ceuta as migrants returned to Morocco

Melike Pala

The European Union said Tuesday that there can no longer be any onward movement from Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta after migrants who crossed into the territory have been returned to Morocco.

Speaking after an emergency video conference of EU interior ministers, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said Spain had confirmed that the situation in Ceuta – an enclave on the North African coast, bordering Morocco – is under control and that the Schengen area had not been affected.

“The Spanish government has confirmed that people have returned to Morocco,” Brunner told reporters in Brussels, referring to an influx of 50,000-60,000 irregular migrants who crossed into Ceuta last week.

“Now there can be no onward movements anymore,” he added.

Brunner said the interior ministers expressed “full solidarity with Spain” during the meeting and welcomed the swift response by Spanish authorities to contain the situation at the EU’s external border.

The commissioner said recent events demonstrated the importance of fully implementing the EU’s new migration and asylum rules, including border screening, accelerated asylum procedures, and faster returns.

He also outlined a five-point plan proposed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, focusing on stronger cooperation with partner countries, swifter returns, reinforced external border protection, enhanced early-warning systems to counter disinformation, and intensified efforts against migrant smuggling networks.

“It has to be proportionate. It has to be temporary, of course, and that’s the way we go forward. We look into that,” he said when asked about Italy’s decision to suspend the Schengen agreement with Spain.

Brunner said the EU is continuing negotiations with Morocco on a comprehensive partnership agreement, stressing that migration remains a central element of the talks.

He rejected suggestions that the negotiations were linked to recent developments in Ceuta, saying authorities had instead identified criminal smuggling networks and online disinformation as key drivers behind the crossings.

“What we saw that there was an instrumentalization by human traffickers and smugglers. That’s for sure,” Brunner said.