Influx of migrants to Ceuta gives Spain diplomatic headache
The incident has sparked concern in Europe while Spain also faces a challenge in balancing its relations with neighbouring Morocco and Algeria.
The recent surge of 60,000 migrants into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave, is gradually subsiding as many return to Morocco, easing the immediate crisis for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The initial diplomatic and political strain on Sánchez is diminishing with increased military and police presence, facilitating the processing and repatriation of new arrivals who do not voluntarily leave or qualify for residency.
Many of the migrants appeared to be Moroccan locals, seemingly unprepared for the arduous journeys typically undertaken by sub-Saharan migrants crossing the Sahara or risking sea voyages to the Canary Islands. Sánchez, who visited Ceuta on Friday morning, accused migrant traffickers of exploiting a recent supreme court ruling that limited the government's ability to immediately deport those arriving by sea.
This incident far surpasses the 2021 incursion, when 10,000 people entered Ceuta—only a sixth of the number estimated to have breached the border in less than 24 hours this time. The current influx appears to have been facilitated by Moroccan border guards, who reportedly allowed individuals—predominantly younger or middle-aged men, but also women and children—to attempt entry into this European Union territory on the North African coast, despite significant risks. Tragically, at least 57 people died in the attempt, many from drowning.
The larger question revolves around Morocco's decision to adopt such a permissive stance, departing from its usual efficient border control. This points to deep-seated sensitivities in Morocco's relations with Europe and its neighbor, Algeria, with Spain playing a crucial role.
Over 50 years ago, Madrid relinquished control of the Spanish Sahara to Morocco's King Hassan II, while Algeria supported the indigenous Polisario independence movement, housing its supporters in refugee camps and hosting its political leaders. Today, the two Maghreb governments are locked in a bitter diplomatic cold war over the territory, now known as Western Sahara, a dispute monitored by a large UN peacekeeping force maintaining a fragile calm between Polisario guerrillas and the Moroccan army.
European governments have largely tried to remain neutral on this issue for decades, but occasionally, their actions have provoked anger in either Algiers or Rabat. Morocco has previously used migration pressure as a retaliatory tactic against Spain, which is particularly vulnerable due to its two small city-territories, Ceuta and Melilla, on the North African coast, sharing land borders solely with Morocco.
The May 2021 influx of 10,000 migrants into Ceuta followed Madrid's decision to allow Polisario president Brahim Ghali to receive COVID-19 treatment in a Spanish hospital. Yesterday's equally sudden, though much larger, surge of incomers follows a recent visit by Sánchez to Algiers. That trip was an effort to mend diplomatic fences and appease Algerian anger over Spain's 2022 decision to abandon neutrality and support Morocco's plan for Western Sahara's autonomy while denying it independence, a position also adopted by the UK.
France has also struggled to maintain good relations with these two fiercely opposed Maghreb rivals, but Spain's vulnerability is heightened by Ceuta and Melilla. These towns, with origins dating back millennia to the Phoenician era, later came under Arab rule before being seized by Spain in the 16th century after the Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula. In modern terms, they are EU outposts on the southern Mediterranean shore, bordered only by Morocco on their landward side.
Thus, yesterday's migrant influx, however temporary, presents a practical challenge for Sánchez and a significant political and diplomatic headache. Spain's mainstream conservatives, the Partido Popular, and the hard-right Vox party have seized on the issue. Several other European governments have expressed concerns, with Italy even suggesting the suspension of Spain's membership in the Schengen open borders regime.
However, due to the unique geographical position of Ceuta and Melilla, Spain maintains strict internal border controls on flights and ferries from these cities to the mainland, thereby regulating travelers' access to the rest of Schengen Europe.
Beyond the immediate commotion of yesterday's dramatic influx lies a deeper divergence in outlook and policy. Sánchez has pursued an "immigration positive" agenda, a stark contrast to the more restrictive attitudes of most EU states or the UK. This includes a program to bring Senegalese seasonal workers to Spain, primarily for the horticultural sector. The long-term political and economic sustainability of this approach remains to be seen, but it conveys a public message that some other European governments may find unsettling, potentially explaining their reaction to the events in Ceuta.
Paul Melly is a consulting fellow with the Africa Programme at Chatham House in London.