In addition to its autonomous communities, Spain has five plazas de soberanía (places of sovereignty) near Morocco administrated directly by Madrid's Government. They are part of the European Union as part of Spain. Their currency is euro.

• Islas Chafarinas,
• Peñón de Alhucemas,
• Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera,
• Isla de Alborán
• Isla Perejil, is a small islet close to Ceuta that was subject of a confrontation with Morocco in 2002, but it is not a plaza de soberanía in itself, but rather no-men's land.

The cities of Ceuta and Melilla are now autonomous cities (a kind of autonomous comunities), and have more powers than plain cities (they can produce regulations to execute acts, with higher regulation competencies than normal city councils) but fewer than autonomous communities (these cities cannot produce autonomous acts).

When Spain gave independence to Morocco in 1956, it did not withdraw its claims to any of the islands and islets off Morocco's northern coast that Spain have since the XVI century, long before Morocco's colonization in the early 1900's. This left the Chafarinas Islands, Alborán Island and the Rocks of Alhucemas and Vélez de la Gomera under direct Spanish administration.

All of these places of sovereignty are claimed by Morocco.