Ceuta leader urges EU to ‘fortify’ border with Morocco

The president of Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday called for stronger protection of the territory’s border with Morocco, urging additional personnel and resources following the recent migration crisis.

According to EFE, Juan Jesus Vivas addressed an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, arguing that Ceuta’s frontier is “everyone’s border” and should be better protected.

“Our population feels sad, helpless, uneasy, fearful and worried,” Vivas said. “And they have reasons, because it is inevitable to ask whether this could happen again, and whether that would be the definitive fall into the abyss.”

Vivas urged European institutions to reinforce the border with “greater human and material resources,” saying the recent events had heightened concerns among residents about the enclave’s security and future.

The committee held the extraordinary videoconference to discuss the situation in Ceuta following the recent surge in irregular migrant crossings from neighboring Morocco.

His remarks came two days after Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said more than 70,000 of the estimated 72,000 people who entered Ceuta on July 30 had already left the enclave.

Grande-Marlaska added that authorities were continuing procedures to resolve the situation of those who remained.