The European Commission expects all those who entered Ceuta irregularly at the end of July to be returned. Unaccompanied minors can, in principle, also be returned – but Spain must ensure their special protection.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
by Marlon Gallego Bosbach
The migration crisis in Ceuta is entering a new political phase. While the Spanish government is trying to temporarily accommodate thousands of people and at the same time calm the situation, Brussels is increasing pressure on Madrid. The European Commission has reiterated its expectation that all those who remain irregularly in the Spanish enclave following the mass border crossing at the end of July should be returned to Morocco.
The treatment of unaccompanied minors is particularly contentious. Brussels has made clear that European return rules can, in principle, also apply to them. At the same time, children and young people are subject to specific legal safeguards and protection requirements.
Brussels voices a clear expectation
The European Commission has reaffirmed its position several times in recent days. According to the relevant Commission spokesperson, Markus Lammert, Brussels expects all those who remain in Ceuta irregularly to be returned.
This does not apply only to adult migrants. According to the Commission, European return rules can, in principle, also apply to unaccompanied minors. The EU refers both to the existing return framework and to the new European rules adopted in June.
At the same time, Brussels stresses that returns must be carried out in accordance with EU law and Spain’s international obligations.
The message from Brussels is therefore clear: the EU is supporting Spain in managing the crisis, while at the same time expecting the return of those who have no legal right to remain in Spain to be organised.
Spain plans to relocate around 500 girls
The situation of the minors is particularly sensitive. The Spanish government is currently preparing to relocate around 500 girls from Ceuta to mainland Spain. The aim is to ease the severe pressure on the enclave and, in particular, to ensure that especially vulnerable children are provided with appropriate accommodation.
However, Brussels is calling on Madrid to provide further information. According to the Commission, it initially learned about the specific plans through media reports. The Spanish government is therefore expected to explain exactly how the minors will be accommodated and cared for.
The dispute is therefore primarily a question of procedure: while the EU is pressing for returns, Spain must take into account the specific protection requirements applicable to each minor.
Why the return of minors is more complicated
The statement from Brussels does not mean that Spain can immediately return minors to Morocco without further assessment. Unaccompanied minors are afforded special protection under Spanish and European law. Before any return can take place, it must be established, among other things, whether the child can be safely handed over to their family, a designated guardian or an appropriate care facility in the country of origin.
This is precisely why the blanket return of all minors raises legal concerns. A similar dispute had already had consequences following the migration crisis of 2021. At the time, several hundred minors were returned to Morocco. Spanish courts later found that key individual assessments and procedural requirements had not been properly followed. Spain’s Supreme Court subsequently confirmed the legal shortcomings of the approach taken at the time.
The current situation therefore goes far beyond a simple political choice between “return” and “reception”.
Thousands of people remain in Ceuta
While Madrid and Brussels discuss the next steps, the situation on the ground remains tense. On Thursday, around 1,800 migrants were moved from Playa del Trampolín to prepared accommodation facilities. The authorities aimed to dismantle one of the largest makeshift camps of recent weeks and move people from public spaces into organised facilities.
The temporary accommodation facilities are intended to stabilise the situation initially. At the same time, the available capacity is still insufficient to accommodate everyone who remains in Ceuta. The authorities therefore face a difficult balancing act: the makeshift camps need to be dismantled, while sufficient accommodation, essential services and security measures must be provided at the same time.
Political pressure on Pedro Sánchez is mounting
The crisis is increasingly becoming a domestic political conflict as well. The leader of the opposition Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, is calling for the return of everyone who arrived in Ceuta at the end of July, explicitly including minors. The president of the autonomous city of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, is also calling for a swift solution and urging the central government to provide greater support.
Pedro Sánchez’s government, meanwhile, is maintaining an approach that distinguishes between returns, humanitarian assistance and the special protection afforded to minors.
Two distinct political approaches are therefore now emerging: the opposition is calling for the migrants to be returned to Morocco as quickly as possible, while the government is pointing to the applicable legal procedures and its duty to protect minors.
Morocco also plays a crucial role
Ultimately, returns can only take place if Morocco cooperates with the Spanish authorities. According to Brussels, the Moroccan authorities have indicated their willingness to take back people who entered Ceuta irregularly. This is, in principle, also understood to apply to unaccompanied minors.
Cooperation with Rabat is therefore of central importance to Spain. Although Ceuta is Spanish territory, the city lies directly on the Moroccan border and, as such, at one of the European Union’s most sensitive external borders.
The EU offers Spain support
Brussels is not limiting itself to political demands. The European Commission has offered Spain support in managing the crisis. This could include assistance from European agencies such as Frontex, Europol and the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA). Financial support from the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund could also be made available.
According to the Commission, however, Spain had not yet submitted a final formal request for this support as of 20 August.
Ceuta once again becomes a European flashpoint
The events show how quickly a crisis in a small Spanish enclave can become a European issue. Ceuta is part of Spain and therefore of the European Union. Its roughly 20-kilometre-long border with Morocco is consequently also an EU external border. What happens there affects not only the Spanish government, but European migration and border policy as a whole.
The current dispute also highlights a fundamental challenge: Europe wants to tighten controls on irregular migration and speed up returns. At the same time, far-reaching legal obligations apply to particularly vulnerable people, especially children.
What happens next will be crucial
In the coming days, the main focus is likely to be on how Spain deals with the minors who remain in Ceuta. The government must decide which children will be accommodated on the Spanish mainland, which returns to Morocco are legally possible, and how the individual assessments required for such returns will be carried out.
At the same time, Madrid must negotiate with Rabat over the practical implementation of possible returns. For the EU, the political position is already clear: anyone without the legal right to remain in Ceuta should, in principle, be returned to Morocco.
For Spain, the challenge now is to carry out these returns in a way that is both effective and legally sound.
The migration crisis in Ceuta is therefore far from over. Instead, it is becoming a fundamental test of Spain’s migration policy – and of the European Union’s ability to reconcile security, returns and the protection of particularly vulnerable people at its external border.
