page_title: Special member state territories and the European Union
section_title: Ceuta and Melilla
hierarchical_section_title: Special member state territories and the European Union / Special cases / Ceuta and Melilla
caption_attribution_description: Español: Panorámica de Ceuta desde el mirador de Isabel II (compuesta por 29 imágenes)
context_page_description: The special territories of the European Union are 22 dependent territories of EU member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside the European Union.
  The special territories divide themselves in three categories: 9 Outermost Regions that form part of the European Union, though they benefit from derogations from some EU laws due to their geographical remoteness from mainland Europe, 13 Overseas Countries and Territories that do not form part of the European Union, though they cooperate with the EU via the Overseas Countries and Territories Association, and 10 special cases that form part of the European Union, though EU law make ad hoc provisions.
  The Outermost Regions were recognised at the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and confirmed by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that both primary and secondary European Union law applies automatically to the outermost regions, with possible derogations due to the particularities of these territories.
context_section_description: Ceuta and Melilla are two Spanish cities on the North African coast. They are part of the EU but they are excluded from the common agricultural and fisheries policies. They are also outside the customs union and VAT area, but no customs are levied on goods exported from the Union into either Ceuta and Melilla, and certain goods originating in Ceuta and Melilla are exempt from customs charges.
  While nominally part of the Schengen Area (Schengen visas are valid), Spain performs identity checks on all sea and air passengers leaving the enclaves for elsewhere in the Schengen Area.
caption: Ceuta in Spanish North Africa.
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