The European Commission denied on Friday that the migrants who had entered Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta are moving toward other EU countries.
“I reiterate that there are no onward movements towards the European continent or other Member States,” EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner wrote on X.
However, he described the situation in Ceuta as unacceptable, pointing out that special Schengen rules apply to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla .
“Border checks on persons departing from Ceuta and Melilla remain in force,” he said.
On Thursday, thousands of young Moroccans gathered at the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Hundreds of them managed to enter Spanish territory.
Earlier in the day, mayor-president of Ceuta Juan Jesus Vivas said that about 60,000 people had entered Spanish Ceuta from Morocco in one day, and at least 34 immigrants had died. El Mundo newspaper reported that 25,000 of them had already returned to Morocco.