On the recent hybrid attacks and instrumentalisation of migrants in Ceuta and the need for a coordinated response to protect the EU’s external borders

B100408/2026

European Parliament resolution on the recent hybrid attacks and instrumentalisation of migrants in Ceuta and the need for a coordinated response to protect the EU’s external borders

(2026/2870(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Treaty on European Union, in particular Article 29 thereof,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Articles 72, 215 and 218(9) thereof,

– having regard to the Agreement on the Accession of the Kingdom of Spain to the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624,

– having regard to its resolution of 10 June 2021 on the breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the use of minors by the Moroccan authorities in the migratory crisis in Ceuta,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2026/464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 February 2026 amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 as regards the establishment of a list of safe countries of origin at Union level,

– having regard to the statements by the Council and the Commission of 15 September 2026 on the recent hybrid attacks and instrumentalisation of migrants in Ceuta and the need for a coordinated response to protect the EU’s external borders,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 30 and 31 July 2026, the Spanish city of Ceuta experienced a massive invasion of at least 80 000 illegal aliens, completely overwhelming the competent authorities; whereas only five years earlier, in May 2021, a similar invasion took place where more than 10 000 illegal aliens invaded Ceuta;

B. whereas according to several sources, more than 140 people died on both sides of the border, and allegedly up to 10 000 are still wandering around the Spanish city of Ceuta;

C. whereas all public services in Ceuta are experiencing unprecedented strain or even disruption, with particularly severe challenges in the areas of security, public order and crime, including a growing number of attacks against the sexual integrity of girls and adolescents;

D. whereas the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office has so far reported 23 alleged cases of rape perpetrated by the invaders; whereas among the reported cases, nine of the victims are minor girls between the ages of 14 and 17;

E. whereas following the 2021 Ceuta crisis, the European Parliament expressly rejected Morocco’s use of border control and migration as a means to exert political pressure on an EU Member State and recalled that Ceuta forms part of an EU external border, the protection and security of which concern the Union as a whole;

F. whereas Spanish intelligence and law enforcement authorities had repeatedly warned in the days preceding 30 July 2026 of an organised and potentially massive attempt to enter Ceuta, including through coordinated calls on social media and messaging platforms for an assault by land and sea; whereas these warnings were transmitted to the relevant Spanish security authorities, including the Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional, yet the Spanish Government failed to take any kind of preventive measures to reinforce the border; whereas this failure to act despite clear prior warnings represents a serious failure of responsibility in the protection of Spain’s external border and of the safety of the citizens and law enforcement officers of Ceuta;

G. whereas during the weeks following the event in July 2026, at least 148 people illegally crossed from Ceuta into mainland Spain in more than 10 vessels, as documented by the Spanish police; whereas these uncontrolled secondary movements pose a serious threat to the Schengen area and were met with a letter from 22 Member States calling for an emergency meeting over the Ceuta crisis;

H. whereas public statements subsequently made by the Commission, including by Commissioner Brunner on 30 July 2026 and over the following days, indicated that operational and financial assistance through Frontex and the relevant EU funds was available at an early stage, but that such assistance had to be formally requested by the Spanish authorities; whereas Spain did not submit its request for emergency assistance under the Integrated Border Management Fund and the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund until 24 August 2026, nor did it request additional Frontex support until 28 August 2026; whereas such delays raise serious concerns regarding the Spanish Government’s preparedness for and response to unprecedented pressure on the EU’s external border;

I. whereas a report submitted by the Spanish National Immigration and Border Centre (CENIF) to the Spanish judiciary regarding the mass entry into Ceuta on 30 and 31 July 2026 points to the active permissiveness and involvement of Moroccan security forces in facilitating and guiding the mass crossing into Spanish territory;

J. whereas Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez labelled the event as ‘a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity’; whereas the crisis in 2021 was also labelled by Spanish national authorities as an aggression, and several experts and analysts consider both cases to be hybrid attacks;

K. whereas the Moroccan political authorities have repeatedly and openly challenged Spain’s sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, including through recent statements made by senior Moroccan officials reaffirming Morocco’s territorial claims over the two Spanish cities; whereas such claims constitute an unacceptable challenge to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an EU Member State and to the integrity of the EU’s external borders;

L. whereas Commissioner Brunner has stated that the Commission intends to allocate EUR 160 million to Morocco until 2027 to support the implementation of its national strategy on immigration and asylum; whereas Morocco has already benefited from substantial EU financial support, including, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and figures from the Commission, almost EUR 10 billion in direct transfers in the form of grants and subsidies, including more than EUR 200 million in specific border control and migration management programmes over the last decade, in addition to billions of euro in favourable financing from the European Investment Bank;

M. whereas the EU is Morocco’s largest trading partner; whereas Morocco represented only 1.2 % of the EU’s total trade in goods with the world in 2025; whereas the EU-Morocco Association Agreement provides Morocco with preferential access to the EU market, with trade in industrial products fully liberalised and substantial preferential market access granted for agricultural and fisheries products; whereas the EU therefore constitutes a crucial economic and commercial partner for Morocco, thus providing the EU with significant economic and political leverage in its relations with the Moroccan authorities;

N. whereas the Spanish Government confirmed in May 2022 that the mobile device of Prime Minister Sánchez had been infected with Pegasus spyware on several occasions in 2020 and 2021, resulting in the extraction of approximately 2.7 gigabytes of data; whereas the Spanish Government described these intrusions as external, unauthorised and illegal and referred the matter to the competent judicial authorities; whereas subsequent investigations and evidence concerning the use of Pegasus by Moroccan intelligence services have pointed to Morocco as the actor responsible for targeting Spanish political figures including Prime Minister Sánchez;

1. Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this hybrid attack on Ceuta through the weaponisation of thousands of illegal aliens to exert political and diplomatic pressure on the Kingdom of Spain; reaffirms that Ceuta and Melilla are integral parts of Spain and that their borders constitute external borders of the Schengen area and the EU; calls, therefore, for the EU institutions and the Member States to unequivocally condemn any action, claim or statement by a third country that challenges Spain’s sovereignty or territorial integrity;

2. Deeply regrets the loss of life on both sides of the border, as well as the distress and suffering endured by the people of Ceuta as a result of this invasion; expresses its solidarity with all victims of crime, including victims of sexual violence and other serious offences allegedly perpetrated by the invaders; calls on the Commission and the Spanish authorities to immediately mobilise means to support the people of Ceuta;

3. Expresses its concern over the high risk of infiltration by smugglers, members of terrorist organisations, jihadist networks and other violent Islamist extremist groups; deplores the fact that individuals previously convicted of terrorist offences and banned from entering Spain have already been detected in Ceuta and notes that at least one remains in custody there; recalls that large numbers of foreign young men of military age remain in Ceuta and may pose a direct threat to the security of the city’s inhabitants and critical infrastructure;

4. Calls on the Commission and the relevant Spanish national authorities to work together to immediately return all invaders using the possibility to derogate from the current common asylum and migration rules as provided for under Article 72 TFEU;

5. Rejects any abuse of the asylum system in connection with this invasion; recalls that Morocco is considered a safe country of origin and is designated as such by the EU;

6. Calls on the competent Spanish authorities to conduct a full and transparent assessment of the preventive measures taken in the days preceding the mass entry into Ceuta on 30 and 31 July 2026, taking into account the intelligence and security warnings available, and the potential blackmail in connection with previous data theft using Pegasus spyware; calls, furthermore, on the judicial authorities to ensure that any failure to protect the border and the safety of citizens and law enforcement officers is fully investigated and, where appropriate, subject to criminal liability;

7. Calls on the Commission to assess whether the Spanish Government failed to comply with its border protection obligations set out in the Schengen Borders Code, in particular Articles 13 and 15 thereof, and in Regulation (EU) 2019/1896, in particular Articles 7, 34 and 42 thereof;

8. Regrets the continued open-border migratory policy pursued by the Spanish Government in recent years, in particular the lack of protection of the southern maritime and terrestrial border, as well as the ongoing regularisation process for illegal immigrants, both of which have facilitated this hybrid attack; rejects any eventual distribution of the invaders across the Spanish mainland as this would pose a serious threat to the security of the Schengen area;

9. Further regrets the fact that the continued influx of illegal migration is the direct consequence of the failed and permissive migration policies also pursued by the EU, which have systematically created strong pull factors, incentivised illegal immigrants to travel to Europe and emboldened criminal smuggling networks, thereby facilitating hybrid attacks such as the recent one in Ceuta; calls, therefore, for a comprehensive overhaul of these policies, including the Pact on Migration and Asylum, so that the EU can provide real added value in ending any incentives that drive illegal migration;

10. Emphasises the need to direct funding from all relevant EU instruments, including the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Integrated Border Management Fund, towards reinforcing and securing border barriers and infrastructure, with a view to preventing illegal border crossings by any means possible; calls on the Commission to work on proposals for removing any legal obstacles to this end;

11. Expresses its utmost concern at the findings of a report by the Policía Nacional, which indicate that the mass breach of Spain’s border – and that of the EU – was not a spontaneous migratory event, but a planned operation carried out under the guise of a migration crisis, and which provide evidence of the presence of uniformed and non-uniformed individuals linked to the Moroccan security forces; calls on the Commission, the Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to assess, without delay, the findings of the Spanish authorities and, should they be confirmed, to adopt appropriate diplomatic, financial and restrictive measures against those responsible;

12. Calls for the establishment of a stricter and more transparent framework governing the disbursement and oversight of EU development and cooperation funds to non-EU countries; insists on the introduction of robust mechanisms allowing for the immediate suspension and full recovery of funds in cases of non-cooperation, or where the interests of the EU or the Member States are at stake; calls, in this regard, on the Commission to immediately suspend all funding to Morocco until this crisis is resolved and there are sufficient guarantees of cooperation in the future;

13. Calls on the Commission to propose the suspension of the EU-Morocco Association Agreement until this crisis is resolved and to renegotiate its terms in the interest of the EU and its Member States; calls for future cooperation with Morocco to be made conditional on effective and verifiable cooperation on preventing illegal border crossings and safeguarding the EU’s external borders; stresses that any measures taken should safeguard the areas of cooperation that serve the strategic, economic and security interests of the EU and its Member States; notes that this should also apply to agricultural and fisheries products in these areas, thereby ending the current unfair competition therein;

14. Calls on the Council to urgently assess the need to adopt targeted restrictive measures against the Moroccan authorities, and individuals and entities responsible for this attack, taking into account all evidence pointing to their participation;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco.