Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 09.08.2026
Last week, it was reported that young Moroccans were breaking into territory on the border with Morocco, which is controlled by Spain. Trump attacked the Spanish government for not defending its territory. Today there are more details explaining what is happening.
Africa is the most mineral-rich continent plundered by imperialists who care about corrupt regimes that create migrants and refugees.
The mass incursion into Ceuta, the city bordering Morocco, has exposed Brussels’ open secret: Europe is paying hundreds of millions to countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Mauritania to stop migrants away from its territory. But now it turns out that these agreements have turned the refugees into a strategic bargaining chip – and the entire continent is subject to constant blackmail.
Within a short time, tens of thousands of people crossed the border from Morocco to Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in North Africa, by sea and by breaching one of the gates in the fence. The Spanish security forces were flooded, the absorption centers were full, and the local event became a crisis that reverberated throughout Europe.
Ceuta, together with the Spanish enclave of Melilla, is part of one of the most unusual borders in the world: a European territory located on the African continent and surrounded by Morocco. For those who manage to cross into it, it is an entry into Spanish territory and in fact into the European Union. For Madrid and Brussels, the high fences, cameras, and patrols are just the last layer of protection for the European ruling class. The more important layer of defense is on the other side – in the hands of the Moroccan security forces.
The reason for the current wave is still unclear. Initially, the onslaught was attributed mainly to rumors circulating on social media, to the activity of smugglers, and to a misinterpretation of legal rulings in Spain, which limited the possibility of immediately returning to Morocco migrants who had arrived in the enclaves by sea. However, in the days that followed, the suspicion grew that Rabat’s conduct also played a decisive role. According to reports in the Spanish media, the country’s intelligence services concluded that Morocco did not organize the mass infiltration in advance, but allowed it to take place. Moroccan border control, it is believed that was gradually eased during the month of July, and on the day of the assault hardly restrained the crowds.
The head of Ceuta’s regional government, Juan Jesús Vivas, told the European Parliament on Tuesday that about 100 people had been killed in the border breach and that 3,000 to 5,000 migrants were still in the enclave. EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner also called for trade and visa policies to be used to put pressure on Morocco, while Juan Jesús Vivas declared: “Morocco is not a reliable country.” But the incident raises a much broader question: How did so many manage to reach a border that is considered one of the region’s most secure at almost the same time – and what happens to Europe when the country it relies on is unable or unwilling to stop them?
Since the great refugee crisis of 2015, Europe has been working to effectively move its borders south and east. Instead of waiting for boats off the coasts of Italy, Spain or Greece, the EU invests in countries of origin and transit: training forces, purchasing equipment, improving surveillance systems, combating smugglers, returning migrants to their countries of origin and preventing them from going to sea.
Morocco is one of the main partners in this system. According to data from the European Commission, between 2015 and 2021, the EU committed €234 million to immigration-related projects in the Kingdom. The money was directed, among other things, to border management, the fight against smuggling and human trafficking, the protection of migrants, voluntary repatriation, and the improvement of Moroccan immigration policy. In 2023, the EU launched another €152 million programme aimed at strengthening Morocco’s ability to manage its borders, dismantle smuggling networks and return migrants to their countries of origin. The plan was part of a much broader cooperation package with Rabat, worth €624 million.
For European ruling classes, the logic is clear: it is cheaper to stop a boat before it sets sail, or a group before it reaches the fence, than to treat thousands of people who have already entered its territory, give them the opportunity to seek asylum and conduct deportation and appeal proceedings for months or years. Morocco also benefits – not only money and equipment, but also strategic partner status, access to European decision-makers, and leverage in negotiations on trade, visas, investments, and policy issues. Rather. Once the European border is in the hands of another country, that country can decide how tight to tighten the controls – and when to let go of them.
The most notable precedent occurred in Ceuta in May 2021. Within two days, about 8,000 people, including about 1,500 minors, entered the enclave, after the Moroccan security forces showed unusual passivity, according to Spain. Many of the migrants simply walked along the coast or swam around the maritime barrier. The incident took place at the height of a diplomatic crisis. Spain allowed Brahim Raeli, the leader of the Polisario Front fighting for Western Sahara independence, to receive medical treatment in its territory. Morocco, which sees Western Sahara as an integral part of its territory, was outraged.
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles accused Rabat of “extortion” at the time, claiming that it was using migrants and minors to pressure Spain. The European Parliament later condemned “Morocco’s use of border controls and migration, in particular unaccompanied minors, as a means of political pressure against an EU member state.”
Morocco rejected the claims, but the message was well received in Madrid: its borders depend not only on the number of policemen, soldiers and fences on the Spanish side, but also on relations with Rabat. The following year, the Spanish government changed its longstanding position on the issue of Western Sahara and expressed support for the Moroccan autonomy plan as the basis for resolving the conflict. Relations have improved – and cooperation on the border has strengthened.
This does not mean that every wave of immigrants from Morocco is a planned action of the government. Rabat also faces young people seeking to leave, smuggling networks and thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan countries.
The Moroccan model is no exception. In recent years, the European Union has signed a series of agreements with countries in North Africa and the Sahel, combining economic aid and investment with a commitment to combat irregular migration. In 2023, Europe signed a memorandum of understanding with Tunisia, which included a €105 million support package for migration – almost three times the average annual funding transferred to the country in the field in the previous two years. The money is intended to strengthen the borders, to fight smugglers, to return immigrants. At the time, Libyan leader Gaddafi was involved in such deals.
In Mauritania, which has become a major departure point towards the Canary Islands, the EU launched a migration partnership and an aid package in 2024 amounting to €210 million. The money is not entirely for immigration, but also for job creation, but a key part of the plan is to strengthen the borders, fight smugglers and prevent boats from leaving the Atlantic Ocean.
Egypt has also been given the status of a strategic partner. The European aid package to Cairo, announced in 2024, amounted to €7.4 billion and included loans, investments, and grants. Of the grants, about €200 million was earmarked for migration management. For Europe, Egypt’s economic stability — a country of more than 100 million people that has absorbed refugees and asylum seekers from the region — has become an internal security interest.
Turkey is also a partner. In an agreement signed in 2016, Ankara agreed to take back migrants who arrived irregularly in Greece, and Europe pledged billions of euros to help refugees and the communities that hosted them. The European Refugee Fund in Turkey subsequently reached a scope of six billion euros.
On Europe’s eastern border, the use of migrants has become even more acute. In 2021, the European Union, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia accused the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus of helping to bring migrants, mainly from the Middle East to Minsk – and from there to transport them to the EU’s borders.
Hands off the refugees and migrants robbed and those responsible for their death are the European ruling classes and their corrupted servants!