MADRID — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday dismissed allegations that he was being blackmailed by Morocco over the migration crisis in Ceuta, using information obtained by hacking his phones.Speaking in an interview with Spanish television program El Intermedio, Sánchez said Spain had set the end of the year as the deadline to establish a unified command to address the crisis in the Spanish enclave in North Africa.“In the National Security Law, we have established a single command and have given ourselves a deadline of the end of the year. We hope to resolve this crisis as soon as possible,” Sánchez said.Since over 70,000 migrants streamed into the Spanish enclave from Morocco at the end of July, Sanchez has maintained he has no “solid proof” that Rabat planned the rush, something that has not convinced opposition parties or public opinion.Allegations picked up by the right-wing Popular Party and its leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo have suggested that Sánchez is reluctant to confront Morocco over the surge because Rabat may be blackmailing him with information allegedly obtained through Pegasus spyware to influence his policies.“Relations between countries, and particularly with neighbors, must be based on respect and on facts, not on wild speculation or contempt,” Sanchez said.“These false reports circulating about the mobile phone or other matters — well, perhaps for a Netflix series they’re great, but reality must be built on facts and not on false news,” he said.“I have never said that we would not respond firmly to Morocco if it is proven that Morocco…is behind what happened on July 30 and 31,” he said.“But as of today… there is no information that solidly establishes Morocco’s responsibility for the wave we faced on July 31.”The Spanish prime minister outlined several measures that he said are necessary to bring the situation under control following the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta on July 30.He said Spain first needs to strengthen the border to discourage further attempts to enter the Spanish enclave.Authorities also need to move migrants currently staying on beaches and streets to reception centers, identify them, and determine whether they qualify for protection or should be returned to their countries of origin, Sánchez said.The government also plans to address the economic impact of the crisis, with Sánchez saying Spain expects to inject €80 million into Ceuta’s economy before the end of 2026.“That is the effort the state is making in Ceuta: the humanitarian effort, the security effort at the border, and the economic relaunch of the autonomous city of Ceuta,” he said.The majority of the migrants who entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31 returned to Morocco within hours of their arrival.Several thousand, however, have remained in Ceuta, where the situation has since deteriorated, leading to episodes of violence and almost daily demonstrations by the local population.The government has had to identify the thousands of migrants who have remained for weeks to determine if they are entitled to asylum, while unaccompanied children cannot be summarily deported.MADRID — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday dismissed allegations that he was being blackmailed by Morocco over the migration crisis in Ceuta, using information obtained by hacking his phones.Speaking in an interview with Spanish television program El Intermedio, Sánchez said Spain had set the end of the year as the deadline to establish a unified command to address the crisis in the Spanish enclave in North Africa.“In the National Security Law, we have established a single command and have given ourselves a deadline of the end of the year. We hope to resolve this crisis as soon as possible,” Sánchez said.Since over 70,000 migrants streamed into the Spanish enclave from Morocco at the end of July, Sanchez has maintained he has no “solid proof” that Rabat planned the rush, something that has not convinced opposition parties or public opinion.Allegations picked up by the right-wing Popular Party and its leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo have suggested that Sánchez is reluctant to confront Morocco over the surge because Rabat may be blackmailing him with information allegedly obtained through Pegasus spyware to influence his policies.“Relations between countries, and particularly with neighbors, must be based on respect and on facts, not on wild speculation or contempt,” Sanchez said.“These false reports circulating about the mobile phone or other matters — well, perhaps for a Netflix series they’re great, but reality must be built on facts and not on false news,” he said.“I have never said that we would not respond firmly to Morocco if it is proven that Morocco…is behind what happened on July 30 and 31,” he said.“But as of today… there is no information that solidly establishes Morocco’s responsibility for the wave we faced on July 31.”The Spanish prime minister outlined several measures that he said are necessary to bring the situation under control following the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta on July 30.He said Spain first needs to strengthen the border to discourage further attempts to enter the Spanish enclave.Authorities also need to move migrants currently staying on beaches and streets to reception centers, identify them, and determine whether they qualify for protection or should be returned to their countries of origin, Sánchez said.The government also plans to address the economic impact of the crisis, with Sánchez saying Spain expects to inject €80 million into Ceuta’s economy before the end of 2026.“That is the effort the state is making in Ceuta: the humanitarian effort, the security effort at the border, and the economic relaunch of the autonomous city of Ceuta,” he said.The majority of the migrants who entered Ceuta on July 30 and 31 returned to Morocco within hours of their arrival.Several thousand, however, have remained in Ceuta, where the situation has since deteriorated, leading to episodes of violence and almost daily demonstrations by the local population.The government has had to identify the thousands of migrants who have remained for weeks to determine if they are entitled to asylum, while unaccompanied children cannot be summarily deported.
