European Parliament Passes Resolution Backing Spanish Sovereignty Over Ceuta, Calls Crossing 'Hybrid Warfare'

MEPs adopted a non-binding resolution on the Ceuta crisis by 339 votes to 225, with 16 abstentions, describing the July 30-31 mass crossing as an 'instrumentalisation of irregular migration' and framing it within a broader 'hybrid warfare' narrative, while demanding 'unconditional respect for the territorial integrity of EU countries' and stating that any challenge to Spanish sovereignty is 'unacceptable and incompatible with the obligations of a partner country.' The text also criticised aspects of Spain's own migration policy as a 'pull factor.' Ceuta president Juan Jesús Vivas called the vote an 'important endorsement' of the city, welcoming its recognition of Ceuta as a model of coexistence. Morocco's ambassador to the EU and NATO, Ahmed Reda Chami, pushed back, saying the resolution contains 'no condemnation or injunction' against Rabat and 'does not endorse any of the attempts to instrumentalize the migration crisis.' Separately, Spanish ministers Elma Saiz and Fernando Grande-Marlaska met EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner the same day to discuss the crisis at EU level.