ECPP would like to express its gratitude to its Spanish member party, Valores, for raising the alarm regarding the ongoing crisis in Ceuta among the ECPP membership. Their ongoing monitoring of the situation and advocacy on behalf of those affected is of great value to us.  

We reaffirm our strong position that Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish territories and, as such, form part of the European Union and its external border with Africa. While they have a special status inside the Schengen Area, their security and stability are matters of concern for the entire European Union, not just Spain. In this context, we welcome the affirmation of this position by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the European Parliament, as demonstrated by the State of the Union address and the resolution adopted during the September plenary session on the situation in Ceuta.  

ECPP is calling for a thorough and independent investigation into what led to the en masse border crossing. We are concerned about the policies of the Sánchez government, such as the regularisation of more than 500,000 irregular migrants living in Spain earlier this year and the Spanish Supreme Court ruling in late June/early July that border rejection cannot apply to people intercepted at sea. These policies could be interpreted as pull factors.  

We condemn the human trafficking networks that exploit migrants. ECPP expresses its deepest regret and sorrow over the loss of 140 lives during this crisis. 

The majority of the estimated 70,000–80,000 people who crossed into Ceuta were returned to Morocco. Those who arrived by water, unaccompanied minors, and individuals with asylum claims remain in Ceuta and are being processed more slowly. ECPP recalls that the right to seek asylum is enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and must be respected. We emphasise that the human dignity of migrants, whether legal or irregular, must be upheld at all times. Unaccompanied minors are children first and foremost and must be treated as such, with their rights under national and European legislation being respected and their cases prioritised in further procedures.   

Ceuta is overcrowded and destabilised. ECPP is concerned about the sanitary and living conditions of both residents and stranded migrants, in particular the safety of women and girls. The Spanish authorities and European institutions must allocate adequate aid and resources to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all.  

Securing the external borders of the European Union is a shared responsibility of all Member States. ECPP urges Member States to show greater solidarity with and support for the Spanish authorities as they manage the aftermath of the crisis and the processing of the stranded migrants in Ceuta — the majority of whom are children. ECPP does not consider the temporary suspension of Schengen rules to be a solution but rather empty symbolism. 

Human dignity and relational thinking compel us to place the humanity of all those affected — both migrants and the residents of Ceuta — at the centre of our concerns and solutions. Securing and protecting our external borders and upholding the human rights and dignity of every person are not contradictory; they can and must go hand in hand. ECPP stands for such solutions. 

We will continue to monitor this issue and engage actively on it at the European level. ECPP is organising internal discussions on this matter and, together with its MEPs, is preparing questions for the European Commission, particularly for Commissioner Brunner, responsible for Internal Affairs and Migration.