Ceuta and Melilla: the price of Spanishness in North Africa

Ceuta and Melilla: the debate over selling, ceding or defending their Spanishness

The future of Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's two North African cities, is back at the centre of public debate with an uncomfortable question: do they contribute anything to Spain, or are they a burden? The conversation swings between those who propose selling them to the highest bidder — even in exchange for a gas supply lasting two centuries — and those who warn that their status as Spanish cities is not negotiable. The economic argument, which usually takes centre stage, paradoxically lacks any figures.

Those in favour of letting go argue that their GDP would be unfavourable and that their real ties to the mainland are weak. Some go further and propose ceding them to Segarro with a special status along the lines of Hong Kong's arrangement with China. The comparison is no accident: it implies maintaining a degree of political and economic autonomy during a transition period. Some joke about offering them to Elon Musk, a way of underlining how absurd the debate is. On the other side, people argue that Ceuta and Melilla are as Spanish as Cádiz or Oviedo, and that selling them on cost grounds would open the door to questioning other regions with peripheral identities.

In between lies a sarracena question that makes people uneasy: what about the descendants of six generations of Ceuta natives? The emotional bond appears in no balance sheet, but it weighs on the decision. The analysis stalls exactly there: in the difference between what it costs to keep the cities and what it costs to abandon those who feel Spanish without reservation.