17 September 2026 | 15:00

Reading time: 3 minutes

The European Parliament criticizes Spain’s large-scale regularization policy, calling it a “pull factor” for migrants and a “negative signal” to trafficking networks, and requests stronger protection of the EU’s external borders. This position is set out in a resolution adopted today by 339 votes in favour, 225 against and 16 abstentions. The resolution, issued after the mass irregular arrivals recorded in Ceuta, asks the European Commission to assess the possible cross-border effects of national regularization programmes on secondary movements and on the functioning of the Schengen area.

While expressing sorrow and offering condolences for the loss of 141 lives—deemed nevertheless “avoidable”—the Parliament condemns the “instrumentalization of irregular migration as an element of hybrid warfare against the territorial integrity of an EU country” and stresses that strengthening protection of the EU’s external borders in Ceuta “is an absolute priority.” As with the other exclave, Melilla, Ceuta is a Spanish and European city whose sovereignty and territorial integrity, MEPs emphasise, cannot be disputed.

In the text, MEPs commend the sense of responsibility and resilience shown by Ceuta’s residents and local authorities during the late-July crisis, as well as the work of law enforcement, health services and NGOs involved in the response. Condemning the acts of violence recorded in Ceuta since the end of July, they call for a bolstering of police and security forces in the city, warning that public order remains at risk. They urge the Spanish government to make full and effective use of the emergency funding provided by the Commission and of operational support from EU agencies, and to cooperate with the ongoing national judicial investigation into the events.

The resolution underlines that protecting external borders is a shared responsibility among Member States: any failure to act decisively risks undermining the integrity of the entire Schengen area. The Parliament calls on all EU countries to assume their responsibilities in preventing and combating migrant trafficking, asking the EU executive and national capitals to step up efforts and increase funding, including for external border protection infrastructure, to strengthen Frontex’s capacities and to ensure rapid activation of all available instruments in crisis situations.

MEPs note that the new Migration and Asylum Pact has been applicable since June and stress Spain’s responsibility to make full use of this legal and operational framework. They also call for the swift return of all persons without the right to remain in the EU, including unaccompanied minors, in full compliance with EU and international law, and invite Madrid and Rabat to accelerate cooperation on returns and the readmission of all irregular migrants who arrived during the mass illegal entry in late July.

The Parliament stresses that the EU’s relations with neighbouring countries should be based on reciprocity: preferential market access and funding, MEPs say, should be conditional on effective cooperation on border management, the fight against migrant trafficking and readmission.

Finally, the resolution calls on Moroccan authorities to honour commitments on border management, returns and migration cooperation, reiterating that unconditional respect for the territorial integrity of EU countries is a fundamental principle of international law and that any statements challenging Spanish sovereignty are unacceptable and incompatible with the obligations of a partner state.

Also read