Ceuta President Vivas held a joint press conference in Brussels with Javier Zarzalejos, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Vivas argued that Morocco was using border controls and migration pressure to endanger Ceuta’s territorial integrity, strain the city’s migrant reception services, and destabilize it economically and socially.
Vivas said that approximately 80,000 people entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31. Noting that this number was equivalent to the city’s population, Vivas argued that such a movement could not have taken place without Morocco’s involvement or consent.
Vivas claimed that Spanish police reports contained footage showing the Moroccan gendarmerie directing people toward the border. He argued that Morocco had previously used border controls and migration pressure to destabilize Ceuta and Melilla. Vivas said more than 100 people had lost their lives in the latest incidents.
Vivas warns of high risks in Ceuta
Vivas said Ceuta faced high risks in terms of security, public services, economic activity, employment, social life and national security, adding that the city had become unsustainable. Saying that Ceuta’s residents were demoralized and felt “occupied and abandoned,” Vivas argued that Morocco was harming the city’s prospects for economic development.
Vivas argued that Morocco was responsible for the situation in Ceuta through its actions or inaction. He said there were no precise figures for the number of people in the city, adding that estimates of the number who entered Ceuta ranged from 80,000 to 90,000 or 100,000, while the number still remaining in the city was estimated at between 5,000 and 15,000.
Vivas said 1,800 unaccompanied children were being housed in Ceuta, whereas Spanish law provided for 30 in the city. He said that figure could reach 3,000 in the coming period.
Call for special status from the European Union
Vivas called on European institutions to adopt a categorical and unequivocal position that the borders of Ceuta and Melilla were Europe’s land borders in Africa. He said failure to respect the borders would make Europe’s cooperation and partnership policy unsustainable.
Vivas called on the European Commission to become involved in restoring normal conditions in Ceuta and to support the Spanish government by providing the necessary means for returns. He also called for a permanent European presence in Ceuta through the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the European Union Agency for Asylum.
Vivas called for financial support from the European Union to strengthen border infrastructure and address the humanitarian emergency, saying that a forceful response to Morocco was necessary. At the same time, he said they wanted efficient cooperation with Morocco based on mutual benefit.
Vivas also called for special status for Ceuta and Melilla within the European Union. He said this status should cover state aid, access for products originating in Ceuta to the European Union market, the city’s economic and financial regime, and greater access to European structural funds.
Vivas called for Ceuta and Melilla to be represented in the European Committee of the Regions and urged the European Union Migration and Asylum Pact to be adapted in light of the two cities’ status as Europe’s land border in Africa.
Migration movement in Ceuta
Approximately 70,000 irregular migrants swam from the coast of Fnideq in Morocco to Ceuta, Spain, in North Africa, on July 30 and 31. Following the increase in attempts to enter irregularly, the Spanish government decided to deploy the armed forces to the region to ensure security.
The number of irregular migrants who died while attempting to cross from Morocco into Spain was announced as 88.
