Brussels – “Ceuta must not become a testing ground for the erosion of rights.” In Brussels, MEPs Estrella Galán (The Left) and Mélissa Camara (Greens) have returned from their mission to the Spanish exclave with a direct accusation levelled at the European Commission: “We need the transfer of migrants to Spanish territory, and the European Commission is trying to block these movements,” said Galán at a press conference at the European Parliament.
Together with Melilla, Ceuta is one of the two Spanish territories on the North African coast and has long been one of the most sensitive points on the EU’s external border. In May 2021, thousands of people crossed the border from Morocco in the space of a few days. The new crisis, which erupted in the summer of 2026, has once again put pressure on the exclave’s reception facilities, where thousands of people remain.
According to Galán, the answer cannot be to leave migrants stranded within the 18 square kilometres of the exclave. “Thousands of people are in extremely vulnerable situations, without an adequate and sufficient humanitarian response,” she said, stressing the reality that children face. “We are not talking about figures, we are not talking about numbers, nor are we talking about invaders. We are talking about children living on the streets.”
The Spanish MEP is therefore calling for transfers to the mainland to be initiated immediately. “The transfer mechanisms must be put in place immediately, because this is the only solution that Ceuta can currently implement to resolve this situation,” she explained, arguing that there are over 10,000 places available in the Spanish reception system.
Camara, on the other hand, describes a situation in which, in her words, “European law has been suspended, and arbitrariness often prevails, particularly on the part of the police and the army.” Ceuta “is now a city abandoned by Spain, abandoned by Europe and abandoned by the law,” comparable to “a testing ground” for what future European immigration policies might become.
The allegations come just as Brussels is stepping up its response to people crossing EU borders. Yesterday (29 September), the Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Brunner, presented a five-point plan to prevent, anticipate and respond to sudden, mass illegal arrivals by strengthening external borders, crisis monitoring, cooperation with partner countries, combating traffickers and managing returns more effectively.
Brunner described the handling of the Ceuta crisis “as a test for the European Union”, arguing that the EU had passed it. According to Galán and Camara, however, the issue is different: “What we have seen in Ceuta is not inevitable,” said Galán. “It can be resolved immediately with political will” and with rapid transfers to the mainland.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
