Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced in the plenary session of the Congreso de los Diputados on 3 September 2026 that he would apply for Ceuta and Melilla to be recognised as outermost regions of the European Union by the European Commission. He linked the move to the migration crisis that escalated in Ceuta in late July, and pointed to the special position of the two autonomous cities on the EU’s external border.
According to Sánchez, the proposed status would make it easier to access European funding instruments, safeguard special tax arrangements and place security-related measures more firmly within a European framework. No specific commitments have been made by Brussels. As of 4 September 2026, the EU had taken no formal decisions concerning Ceuta and Melilla.
Legally, the way forward remains uncertain. The status of “outermost region” is enshrined in the EU’s primary law and currently applies, among others, to the Canary Islands and several French overseas territories. Changes to the list of these territories require decisions by the member states and EU institutions; any potential adjustments to the legal framework would need to be examined. The government in Madrid describes this as a political impetus intended to trigger negotiations in Brussels. Some have publicly drawn a comparison with Greenland to illustrate different special arrangements for remote territories; Greenland, however, has a different status under European law.
The Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores said after the announcement that Ceuta and Melilla should receive “the same support” as other outer territories of the European Union. Opposition groups and the administrations concerned reacted in different ways: critics warned of inadequate coordination and overlapping powers between the national and European levels. The government pointed out that short-term aid and investment packages had already been approved, and that the application now envisaged was intended to deepen structural integration.
Politically, the initiative signals that Madrid wants to Europeanise responsibility for protecting and developing the two border cities to a greater degree. Whether this will bring legally binding benefits depends on the negotiations and on the willingness of the member states to adapt the existing framework for outermost regions. Sánchez did not give a timetable. One thing is clear: the application would only be the start of a complex European process, bringing together financial, legal and security policy aspects.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).