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Ceuta crisis sparks EU rift
The European Union will hold emergency talks on Tuesday to discuss the migration crisis in Ceuta after tense exchanges between Spain and other member states, following some 60,000 migrants entering the Spanish enclave from Morocco.
“The European Union will hold emergency talks on Tuesday”
Spain condemned a “selfish, polarising and unlawful” reaction to the crisis after Italy suspended the EU’s border-free Schengen arrangement with Spain, a move backed by Finland and Denmark.
Officials said almost all those who reached Ceuta on 30 July have returned, while deaths from the surge in crossings had risen to at least 67.
In a separate letter to von der Leyen, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had “serious concerns” about some European governments and argued Spain had fully restored control over the border and prevented any “unauthorised onward movement towards continental Europe” in less than 48 hours.
The BBC reported that the EU’s internal border-free system now encompasses more than 450 million people and 29 countries in Europe as leaders debated whether to reintroduce border checks.
Sánchez attacks “selfish” stance
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accused some European allies of mounting a “selfish, polarizing and unlawful” response to the migration crisis in his country’s African enclave Ceuta, saying calls to suspend Spain from the Schengen area were fueled by “prejudice, fake news, ignorance or political interest.”
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Sánchez said his government had restored control of the border within 48 hours, provided humanitarian assistance and returned “virtually all” of those who crossed irregularly.
POLITICO reported that 22 EU leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, raised “serious concern” over the threat to the EU’s frontier and zeroed in on Sánchez’s move to grant legal status to up to 1.2 million unauthorized migrants as a “pull factor” that fueled the crisis.
The Guardian said Spain confirmed at least 67 people had died in the attempted crossing, with some drowned and others crushed as they tried to cross a breakwater barrier.
The Guardian also quoted Ceuta president Juan Jesús Vivas saying, “We’re not back to normal because there are several thousand people who need to be returned,” while calling for security measures to remain in place.
Interior ministers to meet
The EU’s interior ministers are set to meet urgently next Tuesday after requests by twenty-two member states and by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to convene an extraordinary meeting.
“We remain in close contact with all member states and institutions”
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said, “We remain in close contact with all member states and institutions,” and added that Ireland would convene a meeting on Tuesday of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council chaired by Jim O’Callaghan.
The Guardian reported that Spain said migrant crossings into Ceuta had stopped overnight as police began installing a 500-metre floating barrier off its border with Morocco.
In a furious letter, Sánchez hit out against “fake news” and “disinformation,” pointing out that “virtually all” migrants had been returned to Morocco after the army intervened on Friday, “preventing any unauthorised onward movement towards continental Europe”.
The BBC said leaders of the Netherlands, Finland and Belgium were among 22 signatures on a joint letter addressed to EU President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Taoiseach Michael Martin, warning about “hybrid threats” that could create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible.
