Since Thursday, an estimated 60,000 people have crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, according to the latest Spanish government figures. If confirmed, this would represent the largest single surge in irregular arrivals ever recorded on EU territory, surpassing previous peaks in both scale and speed.
Most migrants arrived by sea, swimming from the Moroccan border town of Fnideq to beaches near Ceuta, particularly El Tarajal. At least 18 people have died in the attempt, many in a stampede while trying to cross breakwater fences, the Associated Press reports.
In a national address, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the event an attack on Spain's territorial integrity, which "deserves our most resounding and energetic condemnation." He attributed the surge to migrant trafficking networks, citing a July ruling by Spain's Supreme Court that the gangs allegedly misinterpreted as a ban on returning migrants who arrive by sea without prior trial.
How does this compare to past crises?
Ceuta has experienced similar pressure before. In May 2021, around 10,000 people entered the enclave in just 48 hours, following Morocco's reported relaxation of border controls—widely seen as retaliation for Spain's decision to allow Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario Front, into the country for medical treatment.
Europe has seen other major spikes, often linked to wars and diplomatic rifts. The 2015-2016 migration crisis, driven by the Syrian war, saw nearly 400,000 irregular crossings in Hungary alone, mainly along the Western Balkan route. Budapest responded by building a four-metre fence on its border with Serbia. Yet daily arrivals at that crisis's peak—between 4,000 and 8,000—were far below what Ceuta has experienced since Thursday.
Greece also faced immense pressure during that period, with the island of Lesbos receiving almost half a million arrivals in 2015, according to UNHCR. In 2020, Turkey announced it would no longer prevent migrants from reaching Europe, following the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria's Idlib province. Turkey claimed it had opened its border to 80,000 migrants, who headed towards Greece along the Evros River. The standoff lasted a month.
Which other European borders are under strain?
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, new flows of irregular migrants have entered the EU via Belarus, mainly into Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. Frontex detected nearly 11,000 irregular crossings on this route in 2025, though numbers have declined since 2024 and remain far below the EU's busiest routes: the eastern Mediterranean (51,000 detections) and the central Mediterranean (roughly 66,000), with Italy on the frontline.
Italy has often borne the brunt of such pressure. In September 2023, 7,000 migrants arrived on the island of Lampedusa in just two days. But perhaps the most striking memory is from 1991, when a ship reached Bari carrying around 20,000 Albanian refugees fleeing the collapse of their country's communist regime.
The Ceuta surge has already sparked political reactions across Europe, with right-wing parties criticising Spain's migration approach. Meanwhile, Spain and Morocco have agreed to urgently return the latest arrivals. The full scale of the event—and its implications for EU border policy—remains to be seen.
