Spain has told European Union partners that most of the people who entered Ceuta during a large border crossing have returned to Morocco, as ministers sought to contain concerns over the management of the bloc’s external frontiers.
Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said 70,000 of an estimated 72,000 people who crossed into the Spanish enclave had gone back to Morocco. He said Spain was still assessing the legal position of those who remained and that people without a right to stay would be returned under the applicable procedures.
The minister made the comments after talks with EU counterparts, which Spain described as constructive. According to Grande-Marlaska, member states recognised Madrid’s immediate response to the situation and the meeting was “satisfactory” in acknowledging Spain’s handling of irregular migration pressures at the border.
Spanish officials also sought to reassure other governments that the Schengen area had not been affected by the events in Ceuta. Grande-Marlaska said there had been no onward movement from the enclave into mainland Spain or other EU countries, and no practical possibility of such movement under the existing controls.
Ceuta, along with Melilla, is a Spanish territory on the North African coast and forms part of the EU’s external border with Morocco. Its position gives it particular importance in European migration management, but it is also subject to special arrangements under Schengen rules. Travel from Ceuta to mainland Spain and the wider Schengen area still requires border and document checks.
That status was central to Spain’s argument that the crossing did not create a wider free movement issue inside the EU. While the images from the border prompted concern among several member states, Madrid has emphasised that entry into Ceuta does not automatically mean access to mainland Europe.
The EU’s migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, said the bloc was still examining the circumstances of the incident, including the role of online misinformation. He said there were indications of interference by smugglers and human trafficking networks, but he was cautious about attributing responsibility beyond that while formal inquiries continue.
Brunner said the European External Action Service was looking into whether disinformation around the Ceuta crossing involved only criminal networks or whether other actors had played a part. Asked about warnings from Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, over possible Russian-linked activity, Brunner said it was too early to draw such a conclusion.
The commissioner also avoided placing responsibility on Morocco. He said the Spanish government had acknowledged Morocco’s role in helping bring the situation under control, while adding that the investigation would assess the wider background to the crisis.
Denmark, which had been among the countries expressing strong concern over Spain’s handling of the situation, welcomed the EU discussion but called for a firmer approach to external border management. Immigration minister Morten Bødskov said it was essential that the EU maintain control of its borders and strengthen cooperation with neighbouring countries.
Bødskov said Denmark was pleased with Spain’s rapid response, while arguing that continued pressure at the EU’s external frontiers required immediate action. He called for greater spending on border systems and stronger surveillance capacity. Asked whether temporary border controls had been discussed, he said that was not part of the meeting.
Italy’s decision to reintroduce border checks with Spain after the Ceuta crossing was also raised. Brunner said such steps were decisions for individual member states, but he noted that it had since become clearer that onward movement into the Schengen area was not taking place.
The talks also touched on broader migration policy questions, including proposals by Italy and other countries for return hubs outside the EU. Brunner said the idea was among the options being discussed by some governments, but he linked the issue to wider negotiations over the implementation of EU asylum and return reforms.
Brunner was also asked about Spain’s separate plan to regularise the status of more than 1.2 million undocumented migrants. He said there had been no criticism of the plan during the meeting and no direct link had been established between that process and the Ceuta events. However, he added that he considered such regularisation measures to send a difficult signal to other parts of Europe, while recognising that migration status decisions remain a national competence.
The Ceuta incident has again highlighted the institutional complexity of migration governance at the EU’s southern borders. Spain is responsible for managing the enclave’s immediate border procedures, while Schengen rules, EU asylum law, return arrangements and cooperation with Morocco all shape the wider response.
For now, Spain’s central message to EU partners is that the border situation has been contained and that the Schengen system remained intact. The remaining cases in Ceuta are expected to be handled through Spanish and EU procedures, while Brussels continues to review the role of misinformation and the operational lessons from the crossing.
