Spain Sidesteps Ceuta and Melilla Schengen Integration Question

"The government has always provided all kinds of support to Ceuta and Melilla. The presidents of the two cities know that they will always have the necessary support from the central government to ensure the development of the cities in all areas," Marlaska told the press after a meeting on a borderless Schengen area, thus avoiding answering the question of whether the government is considering integrating the two cities into the Schengen area.

To read: Spanish Enclaves Seek EU Support to Counter Moroccan Pressure

The presidents of Ceuta and Melilla, Juan Jesús Vivas and Eduardo de Castro, were also in Brussels where they called for greater integration of their cities into the EU to counter the "hybrid threats" from Morocco, recalls Europa Press. For its part, the European Executive has also called for a return to the normal functioning of the Schengen area, without systematic border controls as Germany and France have been doing since 2015.