Spain and Morocco dispute a series of territories on the northern coast of Africa known as the Plazas de Soberanía. While three of these disputed areas are islands, another three—Ceuta, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera and Melilla—share de facto land boundaries with Morocco. Spain has maintained control over the Plazas de Soberanía throughout its tumultuous history with Morocco, which gained independence from France and Spain in 1956 and reasserted its claim to the disputed territories.

From west to east across the north African coastline, Spain maintains an eight kilometer land boundary for Ceuta, a less than 100 meter boundary along Peñón de Velez de la Gomera, and a twelve kilometer frontier for Melilla. The boundaries between Ceuta and Melilla were agreed to by Morocco and Spain at various points throughout the nineteenth century. The short frontier for Peñón de Velez de la Gomera has not received a formal delimitation. All three territories have seen waves of migrants attempting to gain access to the European Union through the Spanish-controlled territories.