Tensions between Morocco and Spain are reaching new levels after nearly 60,000 migrants stormed the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa in late July and early August.
Official Rabat expressed deep concern about the escalation, but categorically rejected accusations from local Spanish authorities that it had weakened its border controls or used the situation for geopolitical pressure.
Reuters reported a serious political shake-up. A senior Moroccan government official told reporters that the country has fully fulfilled its international and bilateral obligations to curb illegal migration. According to data from the Moroccan Ministry of Interior, quoted by the Arab media Hespress, the country maintains a permanent contingent of about 24,000 security personnel along its northern coast. Thanks to these measures, Rabat has stopped 79,000 and 74,000 illegal crossing attempts in the past two years, respectively.
Morocco's main criticism is directed at Madrid and, in particular, at a decision by the Spanish court of July 8, 2026. As reported by Hespress, this court ruling practically deactivates key deterrent mechanisms by limiting the possibility of immediate return („hot expulsion“) of migrants caught at sea. According to the Moroccan authorities, this move has given a kind of „immunity“ of illegal immigrants and has served as a green light for criminal networks of human trafficking.
“Europe asks us to stop migrants, but on the other side it rolls out a red carpet for them once they cross the border“, a Moroccan representative told Reuters, stressing that Spain must find its own solution to restore legal deterrence.
Meanwhile, the scale of the humanitarian crisis remains critical. According to Al Jazeera and the Spanish newspaper El Pais, quoted in a number of European chronicles, at least 72 people died on the Spanish side of the border and 11 on the Moroccan side in the massive pressure by sea and land. Although over 50,000 people have returned voluntarily or been repatriated quickly in the last 48 hours thanks to the “exemplary” operational cooperation between Madrid and Rabat, between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants still remain stranded in Ceuta. The accommodation centers in the exclave are completely overwhelmed, and hundreds of unaccompanied minors are left in makeshift camps on the streets without secure access to food.
The crisis has become an occasion for the extraordinary activation of mechanisms in the European Union. The European Commission has already announced its readiness to provide additional financial and technical support to Morocco for border management. At the same time, Italy announced a temporary one-month suspension of the Schengen agreement for flights and ships arriving from Spain in order to strengthen the filtration of passengers from third countries.
The interior ministers of the EU member states are expected to hold an emergency meeting to agree on a unified response to the unprecedented situation.