Royal Visits Bring Spain-Morocco Dispute Over Ceuta and Melilla Into Focus

Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are scheduled to visit Ceuta on October 13 and Melilla the following day, putting the unresolved territorial dispute between Spain and Morocco back in the spotlight.

The trip would mark Felipe VI’s first visit to either city as king since he ascended the throne in 2014. The planned appearances also follow a major migration crisis at the Ceuta border and come as Morocco continues to claim sovereignty over both cities.

A dispute over sovereignty

Spain regards Ceuta and Melilla as part of its territory and administers both as autonomous cities. Morocco, however, considers the two cities, along with several smaller Spanish-held territories in North Africa, to be part of Moroccan territory.

Ceuta’s legal status under Spanish law is set out in its Statute of Autonomy, which describes the city as an integral part of the Spanish nation. The disagreement is therefore about sovereignty rather than day-to-day administration, which is carried out by Spain.

Morocco has maintained its claim to Ceuta and Melilla since gaining independence in 1956. Spain’s position rests on the cities’ long periods of Portuguese and Spanish control, as well as their current constitutional status within Spain. The competing positions remain unresolved.

Why Ceuta has two names

The city is known as Ceuta in Spanish and as Sabta in Arabic, a name commonly written as Sebta in Latin script. The names are different linguistic forms for the same place, although the use of Sebta can sometimes carry political resonance in discussions of the dispute.

Spain’s Ministry of Culture identifies Sabta with present-day Ceuta and records a history that includes Idrisid, Umayyad, Taifa, Almoravid, Almohad and Marinid rule. The city was also connected to the Taifa of Malaga in the 11th century.

Portuguese forces led by King John I captured Ceuta on August 21, 1415. According to the historical account cited in the source material, the conquest ended more than seven centuries of Muslim rule. Ceuta remained Portuguese for more than two centuries before staying under the Spanish monarchy after Portugal restored its independence in 1640. The 1668 Treaty of Lisbon formally recognised Portuguese independence and left Ceuta in Spanish hands.

Different histories, shared dispute

Melilla followed a different path. Spanish forces took control of the city in 1497, when it was incorporated into the Crown of Castile. Despite their differing histories, both cities now hold the status of Spanish autonomous cities and remain subject to Morocco’s sovereignty claim.

Ceuta also has a distinctive position in European border policy. It is outside the European Union customs territory, while its border with Morocco forms an external border of the Schengen area.

The city’s location on the North African coast has made it a focal point for migration and border policy. Reuters, as cited in the source report, said more than 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco on July 30, although the year was not specified in that account.

The royal visit is expected to renew attention on the historical, legal and political arguments surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, without changing the unresolved positions held by Spain and Morocco.