Spanish foreign minister urges migrant to ‘not risk their lives’ again, says ‘every last person’ will be returned to Morocco
Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares visited Ceuta earlier today, as he insisted that Madrid had it all under control despite “the most unique and complex” border arrangements there.
He said Spain was in direct dialogue with the Moroccan authorities on how to prevent another border crisis.
He also directly addressed migrants considering another attempt at crossing the border, telling them to “not risk their lives, their money or their futures by an endeavour that is doomed to fail.”
Any migrants crossing irregularly will not be able to reach the mainland Europe or stay in Ceuta, he said.
Albares picked up “online disinformation” on social media with a “false” interpretation of a recent court ruling, stressing that his ministry’s website sets out clearly that “entering Ceuta or Melilla does not grant anyone the right to remain” and “every last person” crossing the border will be returned to their place of origin.
“No one has left the city for the mainland, nor can they, precisely for the reasons I explained regarding this double control border filter, and that the diplomatic work we are doing with Morocco is for the return of all those who have entered irregularly. Everything else is fake news, self-serving rumors,” he stressed,
But Ceuta’s conservative president Juan Jesús Vivas told reporters after meeting Albares that up to 10,000 people still remained in the city, a situation which he calls “unsustainable.”
He welcomed Albares’s commitment to return all people to Morocco, but lamented there was no guaranteed timeline for that to happen.
Key events
4.4 million people who fled Ukraine had temporary protection status end of June, data show
New Eurostat data showed 4.41 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine had temporary protection status in the EU at the end of June 2026.
This number has gone up by 0.6%, or 24,000, over the last year.
Germany (1.3m), Poland (1m) and Czechia (400,000) host the three largest groups of people using the status to stay in the bloc.
Eurostat data showed that adult women made up 43% of the total, with minors at around 30%, and adult men at 27%.
In France, energy firm EDF has reported that a nuclear plant in the north of the country shut down three reactors after a swarm of jellyfish clogged pumps used to cool the units.
Three reactors were taken offline on Monday and output at a fourth was cut by half, EDF said in a statement, leaving just one operating at full capacity.
“This situation has no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment,” AFP reports EDF said.
The Gravelines nuclear power plant, near the northern city of Dunkirk, is the largest in Western Europe, with six 900-megawatt reactors. The nuclear power plant was also temporarily taken offline a year ago after jellyfish clogged its seawater pumping stations.
Striking images across the news wires today show the many ways that heat is affecting the continent this summer, with rivers at record lows and tourists resorting to ingenious methods to keep themselves cool while still seeing the sights.
Italy’s coalition League party will propose a three-year levy on the country’s ten largest banks in the 2027 budget to help support public finances, deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
Reuters reports Salvini said “We as the League will ask, and I am convinced the entire coalition will support us, for a three-year contribution from the top ten Italian banks.”
Salvini said that if annual profits in the banking sector came in at around €30bn, the government should seek “5% a year for three years”.
Former Supreme Court, ECHR judge Baka set to be elected new Hungarian president in another break with Orbán era
As I flagged earlier, Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday are expected to elect former supreme court chief András Baka, who was fired under ex-premier Viktor Orbán, as the country’s next head of state.
Hungary’s last president and Orbán loyalist, Tamás Sulyok, stepped down last month after signing a constitutional amendment passed by the ruling Tisza party of the prime minister, Péter Magyar.
The appointment of Baka, a senior judge who also served on the European Court of Human Rights, is intended as another break with the Orbán era.
“After many years, Hungary will once again have a true head of state,” Magyar said in a post of X this afternoon.
Tisza has the two-thirds parliamentary majority required to elect Baka on the first round without any opposition support, AFP noted.
The vote is expected in under an hour from now.
The commission also finds itself in a tricky position amid escalating border row between Spain and Italy, with both countries reinstating border controls against each other in the aftermath of the border crisis in Ceuta.
A commission spokesperson said the two countries confirmed their arrangements were “temporary,” with no “lasting” effect expected on the Schengen area.
But there is no hint at the moment that they may lift the controls very soon, it seems.
And that’s all from the commission’s briefing.
Spanish foreign minister urges migrant to ‘not risk their lives’ again, says ‘every last person’ will be returned to Morocco
Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares visited Ceuta earlier today, as he insisted that Madrid had it all under control despite “the most unique and complex” border arrangements there.
He said Spain was in direct dialogue with the Moroccan authorities on how to prevent another border crisis.
He also directly addressed migrants considering another attempt at crossing the border, telling them to “not risk their lives, their money or their futures by an endeavour that is doomed to fail.”
Any migrants crossing irregularly will not be able to reach the mainland Europe or stay in Ceuta, he said.
Albares picked up “online disinformation” on social media with a “false” interpretation of a recent court ruling, stressing that his ministry’s website sets out clearly that “entering Ceuta or Melilla does not grant anyone the right to remain” and “every last person” crossing the border will be returned to their place of origin.
“No one has left the city for the mainland, nor can they, precisely for the reasons I explained regarding this double control border filter, and that the diplomatic work we are doing with Morocco is for the return of all those who have entered irregularly. Everything else is fake news, self-serving rumors,” he stressed,
But Ceuta’s conservative president Juan Jesús Vivas told reporters after meeting Albares that up to 10,000 people still remained in the city, a situation which he calls “unsustainable.”
He welcomed Albares’s commitment to return all people to Morocco, but lamented there was no guaranteed timeline for that to happen.
The commission also got repeatedly asked about what it can do to counter further disinformation similar to what triggered a run on the Spanish border with Morocco in Ceuta.
A spokesperson said the bloc could offer further support to Spain if requested, but that has not happened yet.
But he added that the platforms are working on their crisis protocols with an ad hoc escalation and cooperation mechanism in place to deal with what’s being posted online.
“We’ll continue to be vigilant in our work with our agencies and the platforms to stifle criminal networks selling false promises at the cost of lives,” they added.
Opposition ban shows Russia ‘is afraid’ of dissenting voices, EU says
The European Commission is now giving its regular midday briefing.
EU foreign spokesperson Anitta Hipper offered the commission’s response to the Yabloko party’s ban in Russia (11:34).
“So from what we have seen is that this is another testimony of Russia’s action against the fundamental freedoms and the continued pressure on opposition figures.
This basically shows that Russia is afraid because they truly need to eliminate any dissenting voices.
By silencing the political opposition, Kremlin is also removing any domestic voice that has been critical of its unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. I would say this comes as a surprise, but it’s not.”
Latvia finds tunnel under Belarus border as concern grows over irregular migration attempts
Latvia said on Tuesday a tunnel had been discovered under the border with Belarus and announced plans to combat networks that it says are helping a growing number of migrants cross the frontier illegally, Reuters reported.
Latvian soldiers last month used teargas and fired a warning shot to stop migrants trying to enter from Belarus, which shares a 173-km (107-mile) border with European Union member state Latvia.
“The protection of Latvia’s eastern border will be strengthened, with closer cooperation between the Border Guard, State Police, National Armed Forces and security services, and more intensive use of drones for early detection and detention of illegal migrants,” interior minister Jānis Dombrava told a joint press conference with prime minister Andris Kulbergs.
European nations have expressed concern over unregulated migration in recent weeks following an inflow of tens of thousands of people from Morocco to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, although most of those migrants have since left, Reuters said.
Lithuania said in July it had also found a tunnel that migrants were using to enter from Belarus.
Poland and the Baltics have long accused Belarus of weaponising irregular migration to test their borders.
Russia bans voting against the war – Ukraine war briefing
Warren Murray
Meanwhile, Russia has banned voting against the war in September’s elections.
The supreme court upheld a suit brought by a small pro-Kremlin nationalist party, Roblina, and stripped voters opposed to the war of their last option on the ballot: Yabloko, the country’s only remaining anti-war party.
The court banned Yabloko’s entire list of federal election candidates from standing for the State Duma of Russia’s parliament.
With most of Vladimir Putin’s opponents jailed, exiled or dead, Yabloko is the only liberal party still operating in Russia.
Voting options other than Putin’s de facto party, the ruling United Russia, are only tolerated if they are too weak to win; give their backing to the Kremlin; or serve as “spoilers” that draw votes away from anyone who might pose a threat to the regime. About a hundred supporters, mostly young people, gathered outside the courthouse chanting “Shame! Shame!” after the ruling was delivered. Like the Duma, the supreme court routinely rubber-stamps the Kremlin’s wishes.
Addressing protesters, Yabloko leader Nikolay Rybakov said the party would appeal against the decision.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse on the weekend, Rybakov said about 40 party activists were facing prosecution for opposing the war. The party’s deputy leader, Maxim Kruglov, was jailed for seven years in June over social media posts, while Rybakov was fined and barred from elections for posting a photo of Alexei Navalny. Independent polls show most Russians favour peace negotiations with Kyiv.
UK’s Europe minister to speak with Irish counterpart as part of EU reset plans
Lisa O’Carroll
Senior correspondent
The UK’s new European relations minister Hamish Falconer will talk with Ireland’s Europe minister today, a key step to refresh talks over Britain’s post-Brexit relations with the bloc.
Ireland holds the rotating presidency of the EU and has a key role in influencing the pace and direction of political agreements on all issues that come up in the last six months of 2026.
Falconer and Thomas Byrne are due to talk by phone in the afternoon.
UK-EU relations have already been made a priority for Ireland’s presidency.
Romania could shut down second reactor in nuclear power plant as Danube levels continue to fall
In other news, Romania’s nuclear power plant at Cernavodă could shut down a second reactor in the next 48 hours as falling water levels on the Danube make it increasingly difficult for cooling pumps to operate safely, local media have reported.
The plant’s first reactor had to close in late July.
The government has insisted there will be no need for energy rationing, but imports will have to rise to meet demand.
The move could come despite efforts to divert cooling water to the plant, which included a controlled explosion on the river last week.
Ukraine’s drone forces hit Russian military base, oil refinery overnight
Ukraine’s drone forces issued an update on their strikes overnight.
They confirmed hitting a military base in Voronezh, an oil refinery in Orsk, a cargo ship in the Black Sea and energy facilities in the temporarily occupied Russian territories, the army said in a statement.
For what it’s worth, Russia’s defence ministry said its overnight strikes targeted military-related transport and logistics centres in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and on a major iron and steelworks it said was helping Ukraine’s war effort in Zaporizhzhia.
The ministry said it had hit the Nova Poshta sorting complex in Kyiv which it said handled the storage and distribution of dual-use goods, including components for the production of long- and medium-range drones, as well as robotic systems and electronic warfare equipment, Reuters reported.
It said it had also struck the Kyiv-3 transport and logistics centre which it described as a large warehouse complex which it said stored attack drones, ground control stations and their components.
Morning opening: Russia strikes Ukraine with North Korean missiles, Zelenskyy says
Jakub Krupa
Overnight Russian attacks on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least six people and injured 20, officials said. Another six people were killed and 16 injured in attacks on Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, Reuters reported.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Zaporizhzhia “was struck with North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons, and guided aerial bombs.”
“It was a vicious attack, calculated to inflict maximum damage specifically on civilian infrastructure,” he said.
“Every step Russia takes – increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilisation – all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation. And the world needs to respond now, not wait.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine continued its drone strikes deep inside Russia with one person dead and two injured after an attack on Voronezh region, where falling debris triggered fires at a Wildberries logistics warehouse.
The company later said that the fire at the facility had been extinguished, that goods had not been damaged and that deliveries had been rerouted to other warehouses, Reuters said.
Elsewhere, the Hungarian parliament set to choose a new president in a further break with Orbán-era of the past two decades. András Baka, a former president of the Supreme Court and a judge on the European court of human rights, is expected to be confirmed in the largely ceremonial post later today.
And temperatures are rising again in western Europe as Spain and France are about to enter the fifth heatwave of the summer with temperatures up to 38C.
Lots to write about.
It’s Tuesday, 11 August 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
