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Exit polls have the far-right AfD leading the Social Democrats in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the Left Party ahead in Berlin. Merz referred to the outcome as “a disaster”. DW has more.
The police report debunks the Spanish government’s narrative that Rabat bears no responsibility for the deadly migrant surge.
MADRID – A leaked report by Spain’s national police claims Moroccan authorities engineered the mass migrant influx into Ceuta in late July to destabilise the Spanish frontier.
Moroccan gendarmes ushered thousands of migrants to the border of the tiny Spanish city in North Africa, according to a report by the police’s National Immigration and Borders Centre (CENIF), as revealed by newspaper El Español.
The “planning and execution” of the entry of 72,000 migrants into Ceuta on 30-31 July (80,000 according to local authorities) – in which more than 100 people died – was “monitored by Moroccan agents on the ground”.
The police report had been requested by the National Court, Spain’s top criminal court, as a magistrate is now making a preliminary investigation into the mass border crisis. The incident constitutes perhaps the worst national security crisis in Spain’s recent history.
The surge aimed to overwhelm Spanish security forces in Ceuta, according to the report. The intelligence police unit links this to Morocco’s territorial claims on the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, its other exclave in North Africa.
Jorge Dezcallar, Spain’s former envoy to Morocco and ex-chief of the National Intelligence Services (CNI), previously told Euractiv that Morocco’s territorial claims on the two cities were a key factor in the event. By enabling the surge, Moroccan authorities could “test the waters” at a time when it “perceives a weak government in Madrid”, he said.
The CENIF report concludes that Morocco’s objective was to “violate” the Spanish and EU border “under the guise of a migratory crisis”. It notes that around 70,000 people who entered Ceuta had voluntarily returned within hours.
Political pressure
The bombshell report has sent shockwaves through Madrid, where the entire political spectrum is questioning the Socialist Party (PSOE) complacency with Rabat.
Despite Sánchez initially calling the surge a “violation of Spain’s territorial integrity”, and Moroccan ministers making public claims of sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, Madrid has not taken any concrete action against what it calls a “loyal ally”. Morocco’s ambassador to Spain has not even been summoned for questioning.
The official line maintained by Spain and Morocco blames human smuggling criminal networks and social media disinformation for the crisis – a hypothesis questioned by Spanish security forces and experts.
No evidence Morocco was behind Ceuta surge, says Sánchez
Amid the political fallout, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has called on the Director-General of the Police, Francisco Pardo, “to brief him as soon as possible on the content” and “veracity” of the report, a ministry spokesperson told Euractiv.
The ministry adds this “essential” information “should have been brought to the attention of the executive immediately,” as well as to the members of the National Security Council – the crisis management body that advises the prime minister.
The police report is in the hands of Judge Maria Tardón, and the public prosecution, who will decide soon whether to open a judicial investigation.
Pardo, appointed by Marlaska in 2018, subsequently informed the minister that “there is no police report whatsoever that attributes to the Moroccan security forces the planning or execution of what happened on July 30 and 31 in Ceuta,” according to a statement.
The judge “instructed the investigators not to provide their superiors with any information regarding its preparation and content,” which is why Pardo had no knowledge of it.
France and the Netherlands intend to work closely together on Europe’s technological development, the countries’ respective leaders announced on Wednesday.
The European tech sector must be strengthened, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten emphasized during a joint visit to the Brainport technology centre in Eindhoven.
They underlined the vital importance of Europe’s strategic autonomy in the face of geopolitical changes and international conflicts.
“If Europe wants to stay in the race, it must consolidate production chains within Europe,” said Macron. He described Franco-Dutch cooperation as a driving force for innovation, AI, quantum technology and electronics.
“The European Union must itself become a technology giant,” said Jetten. Businesses, research, talent and industry must be better connected, he added.
Macron and Jetten were accompanied by representatives from tech companies and also visited ASML, a manufacturer of microchip production machinery.
Last year, the global market leader invested around €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in the French AI start-up Mistral AI, thereby becoming its largest shareholder.
Macron was due to travel on to the UK after the visit.
European Union member states are assessing a new Ukrainian request for funding for new air-defence systems, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
“It is worth several billion euros and would cover Ukraine’s air defences, including the highly advanced PAC-3 Patriot air-defence system,” von der Leyen said, speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels.
Since June, €8.5 billion ($9.85 billion) from the €90 billion support loan for Ukraine has already been earmarked for drones and missiles, she added.
Ukraine recently put its current requirement for interceptor missiles at around 300.
EU defence and foreign affairs ministers discussed further military support for Ukraine at talks held in Ireland this week, including providing Kiev with Patriot air defence missiles.
After no new pledges were made as part of Tuesday’s talks by defence ministers, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas announced new commitments by EU foreign ministers on Wednesday.
Kallas however did not provide any details.
“The member states who made the announcements will make the announcements also publicly,” she said.
Icelanders will vote in a referendum on Saturday whether to resume entry talks with the European Union amid growing global insecurity. Voters are not being asked to decide just yet if they want to join the 27-member bloc – only whether they want their government to negotiate possible terms.
CIA chief John Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during his visit to Moscow, but did not meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said Wednesday. President Donald Trump described Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow as a “semi-routine” mission, while implying that the intelligence chief was in the Russian capital to discuss the Ukraine war.
Former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, convicted of genocide in the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, has died in the United Nations detention centre in The Hague after suffering several strokes, according to local media.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Russia to attend meetings in Moscow on Tuesday, according to two US media outlets, in what is believed to be Ratcliffe’s first known trip to Russia since taking over as US spy chief. The reported visit comes as US-brokered talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war have stalled.
