Albares accuses EU countries of lacking solidarity over situation in Ceuta

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called on European Union countries to show the same solidarity with Madrid on the security of the EU's southern borders that Spain has provided and continues to provide to other member states.

According to Report's European bureau, Albarez told journalists ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland that some EU governments had even amplified disinformation surrounding the situation in Ceuta.

"I was very disappointed to see that some EU governments were amplifying this disinformation," he said.

The minister recalled that Spain had supported other European countries during times of crisis - taking in Ukrainian refugees and providing assistance to Ukraine, helping Italy during the migration crisis in Lampedusa, supporting Denmark amid pressure on its territorial integrity in Greenland, and once again demonstrating solidarity with Germany recently.

"And that's what Spain expects from its European partner," Albares said, stressing that Spain's land borders in Ceuta and Melilla are also the EU"s southern land borders.

According to him, the EU should treat threats to its southern, eastern, northern and western borders equally. "We need solidarity everywhere," the minister said, adding that the European Union itself cannot exist without solidarity.

Albares also linked the situation in Ceuta to the broader issue of European security, saying that the EU is facing hybrid threats, disinformation and attempts from outside to divide European countries.

"There are many people outside the European Union who want to divide us and make us weaker because they do not want a strong EU," he said.

At the same time, the minister made clear that Madrid expects not only political but also financial solidarity from its partners. According to him, this issue should be taken into account in future negotiations on the EU's multiannual budget, as Ceuta and Melilla are the EU's only land borders with Africa.

Albares' remarks came amid recent tensions surrounding Ceuta and represented one of Madrid's most direct signals to its European partners that Spain considers the response from some EU countries insufficient. At the same time, the minister avoided directly accusing specific states, instead emphasizing the need for "solidarity" and shared responsibility for the bloc's external borders.