Key events
49,000 people believed to cross into Cueta, more than half of its population
Sam Jones
in Madrid
The Spanish interior ministry has just said that more than 49,000 people are believed to have swum or walked into Ceuta over the past 24 hours.
That, obviously is a huge number, and dwarves the 10,000 people who entered the territory during the border crisis in 2021.
That mass crossing came amid heightened tensions between Madrid and Rabat over Spain’s decision to allow a western Sahara independence leader to be treated for Covid-19 in Spain.
To give some perspective, the population of Ceuta is around 85,000.
The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is en route to Ceuta, where he is expected to visit the Tarajal border and speak to the media some time after midday local time.
Morning opening: Spain faces migration crisis in north African enclave of Cueta
Jakub Krupa
At least 18 people died as thousands of migrants breached the Spanish-Moroccan border in Cueta yesterday, prompting concerns about a fresh migration crisis and questions over the implications for the European Union.
A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil force, which polices Spain’s borders, said the migrants were “massively entering from the sea” through the Tarajal breakwater, but could not provide an estimate of the numbers.
Spain’s interior minister said on Friday that it estimated some 49,000 migrants crossed into Cueta over the past 24 hours.
More people were reported crossing into the enclave over night, with Spanish media reporting “passivity” from the Moroccan police.
In response, the Spanish government is deploying extra troops and police officers to protect the border between the tiny African enclave and neighbouring Morocco. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to visit the territory later today.
But the fresh migration crisis sparked also a conflict within the European Union as Italian authorities demanded Spain to be suspended from open border Schengen area until they restore control.
In a rare direct clash between two EU countries, Italy’s far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni angrily said that pictures coming from Cueta demonstrated that “uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe’s borders.”
“Italy will not stand by and watch. … We are prepared to intervene with extraordinary measures to defend the borders and the safety of citizens, including the suspension of the Schengen Area with Spain,” she said.
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani backed her calls, saying he was in favour of Spain’s suspension, and linking the migration crisis with a recent decision with the Spanish government’s decision to regularise over 500,000 undocumented migrants resident in Spain.
In response, Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said the Italian comments were “unbecoming of a foreign minister of a partner and friendly country” dismissing them as “partisan demagoguery,” and said he would summon the Italian ambassador to Madrid on Friday.
Instead, he linked the influx of migrants with a recent decision by Spain’s supreme court saying that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla could not be summarily returned under the enclaves’ special border rejection regime.
I will bring you all the updates as the day progresses.
It’s Friday, 31 July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jul/31/cueta-spain-morocco-italy-migration-schengen-europe-latest-news-updates
About the Author
