European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for coordinated European action to reinforce border security following the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta last week.
EU interior ministers are scheduled to hold emergency talks by video conference on Tuesday, with the Ceuta episode expected to be the central issue. Von der Leyen said the meeting should be used to draw lessons from the events and argued that irregular migration required a shared response built on unity and solidarity.
Spain estimates that around 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco, a figure higher than the initial estimate of 50,000. The official death toll stands at 72 people on the Spanish side of the border and 11 on the Moroccan side.
Disagreement among EU governments
The crossings have also exposed divisions among some of the European Union’s 27 member states. Italy temporarily suspended the Schengen arrangement with Spain in response, a move supported by Finland and Denmark. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš called for Spain’s Schengen membership to be suspended temporarily.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had serious concerns about the stance taken by some European governments. While he said most countries had shown support and solidarity, he accused others of attacking Spain because of what he described as prejudice, misinformation, ignorance or political interests. Sánchez also noted that Ceuta is not part of the Schengen area.
In a letter to Sánchez, von der Leyen praised Spain’s swift handling of the situation but said the incident showed that more needed to be done at key border locations. She said responsibility for protecting the EU’s external borders was shared, and called for close monitoring and physical barriers where necessary.
Five areas for action
Von der Leyen urged the EU to intensify work in five areas: preventing irregular migration through cooperation with partner countries, strengthening external borders, establishing early-warning systems, disrupting smuggling networks and improving returns.
Sánchez has accused migrant traffickers of taking advantage of a recent Supreme Court decision that restricted the government’s ability to immediately deport people arriving by sea. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Saturday that the situation had almost returned to normal and that Spain was working on an inflatable barrier to prevent illegal migration by water.
Source: BBC News
