European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Monday that the EU increase its support to Morocco to help prevent a repeat of the chaotic attempted influx of 50,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visits the border area, amid mass crossings of migrants on foot and by sea from Morocco into Spanish territory, in Ceuta, Spain, July 31, 2026. Reuters/Jon Nazca
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Monday that the EU increase its support to Morocco to help prevent a repeat of the chaotic attempted influx of 50,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week.
In a reply seen by Reuters to a message from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday, in which he accused some European Union partners of a lack of solidarity for their angry responses to the border breach, Von der Leyen wrote:
“Morocco is an important strategic partner, particularly in our efforts to combat migrant smuggling and illegal migration.
"In cooperation with Spain, especially on anything related to Ceuta and Melilla, we could enhance border management early-warning systems and improve our technical and financial support to Morocco."
The surge, which began on Thursday at one of the EU's only two land borders with Africa - the other being that between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla - prompted alarm across the bloc.
Italy suspended passport-free Schengen travel arrangements with Spain for one month, even though Ceuta is excluded from Schengen, and 22 of the 27 member states asked for coordinated action to protect external borders.
Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said it had called an emergency video meeting of the bloc's interior ministers to discuss the crisis on Tuesday.
The Ceuta crisis is the first major test of the EU's new Migration Pact, which sets rules for migration management and solidarity among member states.
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Moroccan authorities granted provisional release to rapper El Mahdi Lyoubi, known by his stage name Mehdi Black Wind, after three weeks in detention. He remains under prosecution for "offending state institutions," his lawyers told AFP.
Migrants who swam or jumped over fences to rush into Spain's African enclave of Ceuta this week were returning home on Saturday, with many saying hunger, exhaustion and hostility from locals had crushed their hopes of a new life in Europe.
Spain said on Friday it had reversed a huge rush of migrants into a Spanish enclave in North Africa, with most of the more than 50,000 people who had crossed the border by land and sea already heading back voluntarily.
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