Morocco denies Spain’s claims after Ceuta migration surge

Morocco has firmly rejected accusations from Spain that it deliberately enabled the sudden influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta this week. Authorities in Rabat attribute the crisis to a Spanish court ruling that undermined existing measures to deter illegal crossings.

A senior Moroccan official emphasized that the July 8 judicial decision, which restricts the immediate repatriation of migrants arriving by sea, was swiftly exploited by human trafficking networks. These groups spread misinformation, falsely claiming that migrants would be granted protection upon reaching Spanish soil. « While Europe demands that we prevent crossings, it simultaneously signals openness once they occur, » the official stated.

Ceuta’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, had earlier accused Morocco of « encouraging and allowing » the surge. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also cautioned against using irregular migration as a tool to pressure an EU member state.

Rabat maintains that it neither relaxed border controls nor scaled back coastal security operations prior to last Thursday’s mass crossings. The kingdom asserts that nearly 24,000 security personnel remain deployed along its northern coastline to combat illegal migration.

Moroccan authorities report thwarting 79,000 crossing attempts in 2024 and 74,000 so far this year. They describe bilateral cooperation with Spain on migration control as « exemplary » before the court’s July decision. Rabat has urged Madrid to reinstate effective deterrence mechanisms while rejecting any role in a purely securitized approach to migration.