The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, called on 24 September 2026 before the European Committee of the Regions in Ireland for Andalusia to be recognised as “Europe’s southern border”. The status, described as “Frontera Sur”, should enable the European Union to provide additional funding, staff and powers to tackle people-smuggling crime and drug trafficking more effectively on Spain’s southern border.
Moreno based his call on the continuing pressure along the sea routes across the Strait of Gibraltar and along the Andalusian coast. The area around Campo de Gibraltar and the coast of the province of Cádiz are affected by smuggling routes, speedboats and violent attacks by gangs. Moreno said that the situation in Ceuta also required greater European attention and support. Local authorities and security forces were doing a great deal, but without stronger coordination and funding from the European Union they were reaching their limits, he said.
Specifically, according to his account, Moreno called for a package of structural funding, additional staff for investigations and coastal surveillance, and faster judicial cooperation procedures. He cited the EU’s responsibility for protecting external borders and operational support from Frontex and Europol, which in his view should be expanded in southern Spain. He also advocated closer integration of prevention, law enforcement and action against money laundering to disrupt the networks’ business models.
“Frontera Sur” is a political proposal, not an established legal status of the European Union. Whether and how the proposed designation could be enshrined in law and backed by funding remains open. No immediate response from the Spanish central government or EU institutions had been issued after the speech. According to information from the meeting, the matter will continue to be discussed in the Committee of the Regions.
The background is the growing pressure on Andalusia’s coastline for years, owing to changing migration routes and a highly professional, organised drug-trafficking network in the western Mediterranean. Municipalities and the Junta de Andalucía regularly point to the particular costs of surveillance, rescue and law enforcement. With its renewed call, Andalusia aims to establish Spain’s southern border as a pan-European responsibility and secure permanent funding for it.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).