Ceuta crisis's rekindling of anti-migrant tensions threatens EU's food landscape

The border crisis that erupted in August 2026 in the Spanish territory of Ceuta on the northern coast of Africa has re-fuelled anti-migrant sentiment across Europe, after around 72,000 people entered the EU territory from Morocco over the course of two days.

While the vast majority of those migrants soon returned to Morocco and did not reach mainland European territory, right-wing politicians welcomed the opportunity to stoke the flames of racism and xenophobia and seized on the humanitarian crisis. Yet while anti-migrant rhetoric may prove politically effective at the ballot box, such attitudes risk undermining some of the pillars of European life, particularly the bloc's food security.

In recent years, migrants have increasingly been weaponized as a political issue, even as they help sustain the infrastructure and economies that underpin everyday life and essential services. Against the backdrop of aging populations across European states, declining birth rates and a mismatch between the educational choices of younger generations and the needs of the labour market, migrants have become an essential part of the EU workforce, as an article published by The Conversation underscores.

As the EU’s fourth-largest agricultural producer and one of the world’s leading citrus producers, Spain is particularly aware of its reliance on migrant labour. Official figures indicate that migrants account for around 30 percent of all agricultural workers, although analysts believe the true proportion is considerably higher because undocumented workers are likely to be undercounted.

From Lleida’s stone-fruit orchards to Valencia’s orange groves and Huelva’s vast strawberry fields, migrant workers play a pivotal role in maintaining Europe’s food supply. They are also indispensable to Spain’s agricultural industry, which generates approximately €43.9 billion in annual economic activity.

The article cites data that shows one in every four fresh fruits consumed across Europe having been produced in Spain. That remarkable contribution to the continent’s food supply is possible in large part because of the often-unrecognized labour of migrant agricultural workers.

Spain’s mass regularization

Spain’s special regularization scheme introduced earlier this year saw almost 1.2 million undocumented people apply for legal status and the right to work. The measure is intended to reduce exploitative working conditions while improving migrants’ access to healthcare and other essential services.

The final number of applicants was more than twice the initial estimate. The exceptionally high demand for legal pathways illustrates the extent to which migrants have remained largely invisible within wider society, while their contribution to the economy and labour market has often been taken for granted.

Although applicants must meet stringent criteria to qualify for the scheme, the initiative has come under attack from populist right-wing political groups, which have described the large number of applications as evidence of a “migratory invasion.”

Some other EU countries have also blamed the regularization program for the Ceuta crisis, arguing that it could act as a “pull factor” for migrants seeking to enter Europe.

At the same time, however, plummeting birth rates mean that without immigration, many European countries face increasingly severe demographic pressures. Eurostat estimates that the EU’s population, which stood at approximately 450 million in 2025, will decline by around 5 percent by 2050, falling by roughly 22 million people to approximately 428 million.

The demographic trend is moving in the opposite direction in Sub-Saharan Africa, whose population is expected to account for more than half of global population growth. The world’s population is projected to peak at around 10.4 billion people in approximately 2080. Africa’s population, currently estimated at around 1.5 billion, is expected to grow by another billion people by 2050, reaching approximately 2.5 billion — an increase on a scale unprecedented in human history.

Meanwhile, an analysis published by the European Economic and Social Committee points out that the number of EU nationals employed in agriculture has steadily declined over the past 15 years. The agri-food sector therefore relies heavily on seasonal and migrant workers to meet the labour demands associated with planting, harvesting and processing crops.

This dependence is particularly significant amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which has been exacerbated by energy shortages and higher costs in recent years. Keeping food prices affordable depends in part on the availability of low-cost agricultural labour, with migrant workers effectively bearing much of the pressure through low wages and insecure employment contracts, according to research published by the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.

EU-wide reliance on migrant workers

Spain’s fruit and vegetable sector is not the only part of European agriculture heavily dependent on workers from outside the country, whether they come from other EU member states or from third countries. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France and Poland, in particular, employ large numbers of migrant seasonal agricultural workers.

The reality of seasonal agricultural employment can be a harsh one, with workers frequently facing poor living and working conditions. Those employed informally or without regular legal status can face compounded health risks, leaving them even more vulnerable to workplace injuries and other serious consequences.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the protection of seasonal workers in June 2020, calling on member states to ensure the proper implementation of relevant EU legislation. It also urged the European Commission to issue specific new guidelines and develop long-term solutions to combat abusive practices and protect victims.

In July 2020, the European Commission responded by issuing guidelines on the protection of seasonal workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and announcing further measures, including continued cooperation with the European Labour Authority.

The debate over migration in Europe therefore extends well beyond border management and asylum policy. For an increasingly aging continent facing shrinking populations and a declining domestic agricultural workforce, migrant workers have become deeply embedded in the systems that keep food production running. The challenge for European governments is consequently not simply to determine how many migrants can enter, but how to reconcile migration policy with the economic, demographic and food-security needs of the continent.

By Nazrin Sadigova