Members of the European Parliament, officials and a number of Ceuta residents have gathered at midday on the steps of the Parliament in Place du Luxembourg, Brussels, to show support for the Spanish enclave on the north African coast after tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco on July 30-31.
The rally, on Ceuta Day, was called by Spain’s Partido Popular (PP) and Vox and was joined by MEPs from other countries, comprising political groups from the centre to the Right. Both parties issued separate calls but coordinated the time and place, on the Simone Veil esplanade.
European People’s Party (EPP) president Manfred Weber stood in the front row holding a Spanish flag.
Chants included “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta defends itself” and “Long live Spain, long live Ceuta”.
Banners read “No to the invasion” and “Marlaska traitor”.
Spanish, Ceuta and EU flags were displayed. Similar gatherings were planned across Spanish municipalities at 8pm under a Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) call.
🔴Ahora mismo en el Parlamento Europeo.
Concentración multitudinaria por Ceuta en Bruselas.
Ceuta no se vende, Ceuta se defiende. pic.twitter.com/aNqiR7Owum
— Juan Ignacio Zoido (@zoidoJI) September 2, 2026
On July 30-31 at least 72,000 people entered Ceuta, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry; some officials have used a figure near 80,000. The ministry revised its count upwards on August 4. Ceuta has about 84,000 inhabitants.
About 100 people died in the crush and at sea. The Government Delegation in the city reported 88 bodies recovered by August 3, most of them people who had drowned.
Most have since returned to Morocco; local president Juan Jesús Vivas has said up to 5,000 remain and that reception centres collapsed. The Government sent army units to support the Guardia Civil and released €25 million in emergency aid.
Many migrants can be seen wandering in the streets and there have been reports of surges in crime, assaults and rapes. Ceuta chief prosecutor Silvia Rojas told El País that 23 sexual assaults had been recorded since the crossings.
Juan Jesús Vivas told the Parliament’s civil liberties committee on August 6 the episode met the dictionary definition of an “invasion” and that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez himself had spoken of an attack on territorial integrity when he visited on July 31. The Spanish Government turned down an invitation to the session, at which the European Commission was represented by home affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner.
A National Police report, now before investigating judge María Tardón, says Moroccan gendarmes directed the flow on the orders of plain-clothes officers for a purpose other than ordinary migration. The document was drawn up by the National Centre for Immigration and Borders (CENIF) and its contents were first reported by El Español.
Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has asked the director general of the police, Francisco Pardo, whether that account is accurate and when the force first held the information. Pardo has replied that no report attributes the planning or execution of the events to Moroccan security forces, and that Tardón had ordered investigators not to brief their superiors.
Dolors Montserrat, EPP secretary-general, said: “Ceuta is Spain, it is Europe and Ceuta also needs a European response.”
She accused Sánchez of “submission to Morocco” and of becoming “the pariah of Europe” for failing to defend the border despite prior knowledge. She said the National Police and the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) had warned that a mass crossing could take place on July 30.
She demanded the immediate return of irregular adults and of unaccompanied minors to their families, and snap elections.
Vox’s Jorge Buxadé called it “hybrid warfare promoted, orchestrated and encouraged by Morocco” and said Spain was living its most dangerous and gravest hour “since the attempted coup d’état in Catalonia in October 2017”.
He has written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas and home affairs commissioner Magnus Brunner asking them to condemn an act of aggression against Spanish sovereignty, suspend EU-Morocco agreements and visas, and propose sanctions on Morocco.
Partido Popular EP vice-president Esteban González Pons had invited MEPs and staff “above any political difference”, calling the events one of the gravest hybrid attacks on EU territorial integrity in recent years.
Alexander Sell, Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP for the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group, told Brussels Signal: “Today’s rally sent an important signal about the potential unity of right-wing and conservative parties in Europe. Anyone who wants to defend our European civilization must protect our external borders and must rule out any cooperation with Spanish or other socialists.”
European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) were also at the protest, showing support for Ceuta, saying they “want to send one clear message: ZERO illegal migration”. Spanish members Nora Junco and Diego Solier attended.
Similarly, the Patriots for Europe called to “Defend Ceuta” and “Defend Europe”.
The Spanish Socialists, Sumar, Podemos and other partners of the Spanish Government stayed away.
🇪🇸 Today, we celebrate Ceuta National Day at the European Parliament, joined by people from all over Europe who are here for one reason: We ALL stand with Ceuta!
We stand with the Spanish people affected by the recent migration crisis and we stand for Europe’s borders, security… pic.twitter.com/fegZgwufJr
— ECR Group (@ecrgroup) September 2, 2026
