As the days have passed since the mass entry into Ceuta, the Popular Party has been hardening its tone on Morocco, which it avoided targeting in the early stages of the crisis. “Ceuta and Melilla are Spain. Consequently, they are not negotiable. They are defended,” emphasized the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, on Wednesday after the Moroccan Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Uahbi, claimed sovereignty over the autonomous cities, thus reiterating the position always maintained by Rabat. At the same time, Génova has filed a series of written parliamentary questions addressed to the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, after his counterpart Uahbi also announced that they are considering suspending the application of the extradition agreement with Spain.
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With this shift in their discourse, the Popular Party is targeting Morocco, but at the same time uses Rabat to attack Pedro Sánchez, implying that La Moncloa is not defending the sovereignty of the two autonomous cities or that they are negotiating some secret agreement. Along these lines, the PP’s Deputy Secretary for Education and Equality, Jaime De los Santos, launched an attack on the government this Thursday for its diplomatic response. During an event in Barcelona, the popular leader reproached the government for not summoning the Moroccan ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich, after the mass entry of Moroccan citizens into Ceuta and contrasted that reaction with the one maintained towards Italy when Rome proposed border controls.
“How is it possible that after an invasion, and after the Spanishness of Ceuta and Melilla is questioned [by the Moroccan Minister of Justice], the Moroccan ambassador has not been called for consultations, yet they did so with Italy?” De los Santos questioned. The popular leader accused the government of lacking firmness towards Rabat and claimed the Spanishness of the two autonomous cities: “Ceuta and Melilla are as Spanish as Burgos or Girona, and as European as Paris and Rome,” he concluded. He also demanded explanations from Minister Bolaños about the dealings with the Alaouite kingdom to address the situation: “What kind of coordination have you had with your Moroccan counterpart?” he asked, while also demanding to know the “legal tools” the government has to carry out the returns.
Ceuta and Melilla are Spain. Consequently, they are not negotiable. They are defended.
— Alberto Núñez Feijóo (@NunezFeijoo) August 12, 2026
The PP’s move this Thursday — with the focus of its parliamentary offensive on the government, but at the same time on Morocco, plus the message sent by Feijóo on social media — culminates a change in the PP’s discourse regarding Rabat. When the Ceuta crisis broke out on July 31, the Popular Party initially avoided directing its attacks against the Alaouite kingdom to exert all pressure on Pedro Sánchez’s government, which they hold responsible for the mass entry due to its migration policy and its dereliction of duties in the autonomous city, the Popular Party argues. In fact, at the first press conference in Génova after the mass crossing, Miguel Tellado responded evasively to questions about the PP’s position towards Rabat. “It is essential to clarify what has failed in cooperation with Morocco,” replied the secretary general. “It is the responsibility of the Spanish government that this does not happen again,” he added. That same day, the Ceuta president, the Popular Juan Jesús Vivas, declared in an interview with EL PAÍS that Morocco “is not a reliable partner.” Tellado avoided backing the position of his territorial leader in Ceuta.
But since then, and especially in the last week, the Popular Party has gradually hardened its discourse against Rabat. Even more so after the latest statements by Minister Ouabi, although his words reiterate the position always maintained by Morocco on Ceuta and Melilla. Thus, the various spokespeople who have appeared these days, some from the autonomous city, have raised the level of attacks against the Alaouite kingdom. This Wednesday, it was the Deputy Secretary for Sectoral Coordination, Alma Ezcurra, who responded to the words of the Moroccan Minister of Justice and assured that, after the arrival of 72,000 people, “someone has blown the whistle” for this to happen, referring to Rabat. She also referred to Ouabi to state that the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla “is neither in question, nor debated, nor will it be the subject of negotiation by anyone.” This message was emphasized this Thursday by De los Santos.
Returns
The Popular Party also demanded this Thursday that the government speed up the returns of Moroccan citizens who remain in Ceuta, with special attention to minors, and criticized Pedro Sánchez’s government for its “inaction” in a situation they consider continues to compromise the “security” of the autonomous city. De los Santos raised the tone from Barcelona and asked to know the actions for “the 11,000 invaders who continue to endanger the security of the people of Ceuta,” a figure higher than the government’s estimates, which place the number of people still in Ceuta between 7,000 and 9,000.
In addition, De los Santos again reproached that no government member gives explanations in the Senate, as demanded by the Popular Party, and requested answers to the battery of questions filed in Congress to know the details of their actions. “We demand answers, and since they have the shamelessness not to appear before the Senate, they should respond in writing,” he said.
The situation of minors is one of the main focuses of the crisis. The latest official estimates indicate that about 4,000 remain in Ceuta, although their repatriation requires individualized procedures. The government and the PP agreed on pointing out their return with their families in Morocco as a “priority,” and this Thursday De los Santos demanded their “immediate return” from the government. Spain and Morocco have had a bilateral agreement since 2007 for cooperation in the protection and return of unaccompanied minors, although its application requires processing each case individually.
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