Spain seeks EU border agency support as Ceuta faces migrant surge

Spain's interior ministry has formally requested that the European Commission provide Frontex, Europol and the European Union Agency for Asylum with resources to screen and process migrants who remain in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after a recent influx. The ministry asked for an extension of Operation Minerva, a joint police-Frontex operation, until 2 September, and for EUAA assistance in conducting interviews and supplying interpreters, with triage to be carried out electronically due to limited space.

Ceuta's Assembly voted unanimously for an urgent declaration, stating that the city faces an "extreme situation" and urging the central government to act without delay. President Juan Vivas warned that the enclave's normal life has been disrupted and called for the lawful return of those who entered irregularly, while emphasizing that any demonstrations must remain peaceful.

The interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, appealed to parliament for calm after recent clashes between residents and police during protests over the remaining migrants. He said, "> Violence is not the answer. I call for calm and an end to any form of violence, because... violence is not the way to resolve any problem with the complexity facing Ceuta."

Authorities reported incidents of stone-throwing at soldiers, arrests of migrants and the burning of belongings at a beach where migrants were sleeping. The government reiterated that each individual must be identified to determine eligibility for asylum or deportation, with special protection for unaccompanied children.

Ceuta and the nearby enclave of Melilla constitute Europe's only land border with Africa, and the recent mass entry of at least 72,000 migrants has prompted a Europe-wide alert and heightened security measures, including reinforced breakwaters, maritime buoys, drone surveillance and additional patrol vessels.