US magazine Foreign Policy said Spain’s sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish-administered cities on Morocco’s northern coast, “is not questioned under international law or by any country other than Morocco,” while pointing to signs that this situation could change in the future.
In an analysis published on Tuesday examining the fallout from the recent migration crisis in Ceuta and the “tense” relations between Madrid and Rabat, the magazine said the two cities have been under Spanish rule for centuries, while Morocco continues to claim sovereignty over them.
Foreign Policy said the status of Ceuta and Melilla has for decades been one of the main sources of tension between Spain and Morocco, alleging that Rabat has previously used migration as a means of putting pressure on Madrid during diplomatic crises. It cited the 2021 crisis, when around 8,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, linking the episode to tensions between the two countries after Spain allowed Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali to enter its territory for COVID-19 treatment.
According to Foreign Policy, relations between Rabat and Madrid only returned to a more normal course after a major shift in the Spanish government's position on the Western Sahara issue, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced in 2022 his support for Morocco's autonomy proposal as a basis for resolving the dispute.
The magazine said the shift helped open a new phase of cooperation between the two countries, particularly on migration and security, but did not resolve their differences over Ceuta and Melilla. It said this was illustrated by the latest migration crisis, when tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30, placing considerable pressure on the city's security forces, shelters and social services.
Sánchez travelled to Ceuta and described the crossings as a “violation and attack on Spain's territorial integrity,” the magazine said, while at the same time highlighting cooperation with Moroccan authorities to return the migrants to Morocco, without assigning any responsibility to Rabat.
Foreign Policy noted that the status of the two cities, which until recently was largely considered beyond question as “Spanish territory,” could potentially face a change. It pointed to the US House of Representatives' recent approval of a bill allocating $40 million to Morocco for security purposes, accompanied by a report by Republican Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart describing Ceuta and Melilla as “located in Moroccan territory.”
According to the magazine, the report also called on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to mediate over the future of the two cities. Foreign Policy described this as a development worth watching, while acknowledging that it does not currently represent an official change in Washington's position on the status of Ceuta and Melilla.
Foreign Policy also noted that the United States recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara in 2020 as part of an agreement that included the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel, saying the development strengthened Rabat's position in its relations with Washington.
The magazine also cited remarks by Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, who said following the latest Ceuta crisis that Spain should explain to the world why it continues to maintain what he described as “colonial enclaves in Africa.” Israel's ambassador to Spain subsequently clarified that the remarks did not represent Israel's official position.
Foreign Policy concluded that it remains too early to determine whether the status of Ceuta and Melilla could actually change. However, it argued that recent developments - from shifts in Morocco's relations with the United States and Israel to new positions emerging in Washington - raise questions about the future of the two cities, while Morocco continues to maintain its claim to sovereignty over them.
