UPDATE — this extends our earlier coverage: EU Ministers Tighten Schengen Rules, Spare Spain From Sanction Over Ceuta

The EU's migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, said this week Brussels should use trade and visa leverage with Morocco to prevent a repeat of the crossing into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, according to Politico and Reuters. Tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta a week earlier, per Politico.

Brunner's core argument, per Politico: the EU can't depend on neighboring countries for border control. That reframes Morocco as a variable Brussels must manage with economic and visa incentives, not just cooperation requests.

That points to two levers. Trade terms run through the EU-Morocco Association Agreement, negotiated by the Commission and requiring sign-off from member states and Parliament. Visa policy can be tightened via the EU's visa suspension mechanism, letting the Commission propose curbing visa-free access — subject to Council approval. Neither tool is Brunner's own directorate to pull unilaterally.

What to watch: whether the Commission formally proposes using either lever against Morocco, or whether Rabat's cooperation on border patrols and returns proves enough to keep this at the level of a warning.