{"id":75580,"date":"2026-08-25T15:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T15:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/75580\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T15:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T15:20:10","slug":"brussels-backs-spain-on-ceuta-with-new-funds-while-madrid-issues-warning-to-morocco-euobserver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/75580\/","title":{"rendered":"Brussels backs Spain on Ceuta with new funds, while Madrid issues warning to Morocco \u2013 EUobserver"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Commission is set to release emergency funds to Spain following a demand from Madrid to help shore up its Ceuta enclave borders with Morocco.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now working on assessing the request as a priority, and in view of taking a swift decision,\u201d an EU commission spokesperson told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday (25 August).<\/p>\n

He added that \u201cthe priority remains to ensure the swift return of all those who remain illegally in Ceuta.\u201d <\/p>\n

No figures on amounts have been disclosed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Madrid had sent the request on Monday, which also includes \u201csecurity-related infrastructure\u201d and additional help for unaccompanied minors that remain in Ceuta after some 80,000 asylum hopefuls arrived in the enclave late July.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch, in a recent report<\/a>, said thousands remain in the streets with many facing sexual abuse. <\/p>\n

Up to 750 women and girls are in two open-air sports facilities, while others are on the streets, it said.<\/p>\n

But Magnus Brunner, the EU’s commissioner for migration, had earlier this month called for “physical barriers” as a possible response to help out Ceuta. <\/p>\n

Such demands for physical barriers, as opposed to tech surveillance, have in the past been disliked by Brussels, given the historical symbolism of walls that once divided Germany.<\/p>\n

And although most people have since returned to Morocco, many remain in the enclave amid demands for asylum and a wider political fallout<\/a> in Spain that now also includes warnings against Rabat, a strategic ally for an EU determined to stem migration.<\/p>\n

Spain issues Morocco warning <\/p>\n

Margarita Robles, Spain’s defence minister, issued fresh warnings against Morocco after Rabat renewed sovereignty calls for the two Spanish enclaves, with what it considers “historical and geographical” rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny attempt at aggression against Ceuta and Melilla is an attack on all of Spain,” said Robles, in comments made on Monday at a Spanish national security council convened by prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n

Despite all that, the EU continues to seek out Morocco’s help.<\/p>\n

In February, it launched a new \u20ac15m anti-smuggling and anti-trafficking project for Rabat.<\/p>\n

Morocco has also set up physical barriers and surveillance technology under the auspices of the EU’s anti-smuggling partnership signed four years ago.<\/p>\n

And although it declined to take part in the second conference of the EU commission’s so-called Global Alliance to Counter Migrant smuggling in December 2025, Rabat still accepted a lone liaison officer from the EU’s border police, Frontex.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The European Commission is set to release emergency funds to Spain following a demand from Madrid to help…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2564,25764,25761,2576,28857,26355,25759,28855,25762,26353,2574,17,25760,28856,25763,26354,2575],"class_list":["post-75580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-typedefinedterm","tag-identifier23","tag-identifier26","tag-identifier4279","tag-identifier4283","tag-identifier4301","tag-nameafrica","tag-namefar-right","tag-namemigration","tag-namemorocco","tag-namespain","tag-spain","tag-termcodeafrica","tag-termcodefar-right","tag-termcodemigration","tag-termcodemorocco","tag-termcodespain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}