Albares: Spain and Morocco are coordinating to prevent new mass crossing into Ceuta on election day

Spain is coordinating with Morocco to prevent a potential new mass attempt to enter Ceuta on Sept. 23, after calls circulated on social media encouraging irregular migrants to cross into the Spanish enclave as Morocco holds parliamentary elections.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Monday that Madrid had activated preventive measures and remained in regular contact with Moroccan authorities over the calls, while stressing that they had so far failed to attract the same level of interest as those that preceded a mass crossing attempt in late July.

“There are messages on social media that, for the moment, are not gaining traction among the population or having the impact that the calls to enter Ceuta on July 30 had,” Albares said in remarks to Spanish media.

Albares said the earlier campaign was accompanied by widespread misinformation, including claims based on a Spanish Supreme Court ruling concerning the immediate return of migrants who entered Ceuta by swimming.

In response to the new calls, Spain’s Foreign Ministry has launched an anti-disinformation campaign. Spanish diplomatic missions in Morocco are providing information through local media, emphasizing that entering Ceuta or Melilla irregularly does not grant a right to remain indefinitely in Spain or elsewhere in the European Union, Albares said.

He also urged people considering an irregular crossing not to risk their money or future by relying on migrant-smuggling networks.

Spain is also maintaining regular contacts with Moroccan authorities over the return of migrants once the necessary files have been prepared, Albares said. He pointed to an attempted mass crossing on Aug. 15 that was prevented after what he described as anti-disinformation efforts and increased security deployments along the border.

The latest calls for a Sept. 23 crossing have circulated for several weeks, with the date coinciding with Morocco’s legislative elections. Spanish reporting has said some social-media posts portrayed election day as an opportunity to cross while Moroccan security forces were occupied with voting-related duties. Spanish authorities have not indicated that the elections have actually weakened Morocco’s border security.

The European Commission has also provided support to Spain following the large-scale crossings into Ceuta on July 30 and 31. On Sept. 9, the Commission approved €114.7 million in emergency assistance for border surveillance and protection, screening facilities, reception capacity and the return of people remaining illegally in Ceuta. It also said EU agencies including Frontex, Europol and the European Union Agency for Asylum were prepared to provide additional operational support.

The Commission has meanwhile emphasized continued cooperation with Morocco on migration management. In August, it said Spain and Morocco were working closely on the return of people who had entered Ceuta irregularly and described Morocco as an important partner in managing migration and border security.

The renewed preparations come less than two months after the July crossings, when tens of thousands of people attempted to reach Ceuta amid a wave of social-media messages and misinformation about the border.