Politics · Spain · 6 hrs ago
Former Spanish foreign minister urges deterrence in ties with Morocco
Former Spanish foreign minister Arancha González Laya says Spain should pair cooperation with deterrence in its relationship with Morocco.
She made the comments during a discussion of a new crisis in Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the North African coast.
González Laya says Spain and Morocco are strongly interdependent, but notes that Morocco has claims over territory Spain considers part of its national territory and the European Union.
She says Spain should make clear that aggression carries a cost, while avoiding public threats and discussing limits privately.
González Laya describes the events in Ceuta as a hybrid attack using migration as a weapon, but says she cannot prove who was responsible.
She compares the situation with earlier incidents at the Greece-Turkey and Lithuania-Belarus borders, which she says aimed to create division and fear.
She argues deterrence should also involve the European Union, and says Spain should not hold back from actions such as the king's visit to Ceuta.
Former Spanish foreign minister Arancha González Laya called for Spain to combine cooperation with deterrence in its relationship with Morocco.
She said Spain should show Morocco that aggression against Spain would carry a cost.
González Laya said the current Ceuta crisis was not a migration crisis, but described it as a hybrid attack using migration as a weapon.
She said she could not prove who was responsible for a hybrid attack.
She argued that deterrence should be handled discreetly and could take economic, commercial, social, military, defensive, security or cooperative forms.
- Who
- Arancha González Laya, a former Spanish foreign minister.
- What
- She urged Spain to combine cooperation with deterrence in its relations with Morocco.
- When
- In an interview published on October 23, 2026.
- Where
- At the headquarters of the European Council on Foreign Relations in Madrid.
- Why
- She said Morocco has sovereignty claims over Spanish territory and that Spain should make clear that aggression would carry a cost.
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This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Interview date
- October 23, 2026
- Interview location
- European Council on Foreign Relations headquarters, Madrid
- Proposed approach
- Cooperation with deterrence
- Ceuta crisis
- González Laya said it was not a migration crisis
- Possible forms of deterrence
- Economic, commercial, social, military, defensive, security or cooperative
What people are saying
The policy of appeasement does not work
We have to show Morocco that attacking Spain does not benefit it, but has a cost.
What works is discretion.
It is a hybrid attack that uses immigration as a weapon.