As tens of thousands of Moroccan migrants poured across the border in a short period into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, tensions are escalating within the European Union (EU) over who is responsible for the surge. As member states trade barbs over accountability, EU leaders convened an emergency meeting of Ministers to contain the situation.
According to major foreign media including the Financial Times (FT) and France 24 on the 1st local time, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, who holds the rotating EU presidency for the second half of the year, convened a July 4 videoconference of EU justice and interior Ministers to discuss the situation in Ceuta. The meeting came right after a letter from 22 EU member state leaders, led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, urged EU leadership to call an emergency meeting of interior Ministers responsible for border control.
Ceuta is Spanish territory that borders Morocco. Over about 24 hours since the 30th, roughly 60,000 migrants surged in using human-wave tactics, triggering one of the largest inflows of illegal migrants in EU history. At least 67 migrants died while attempting to cross the border by force. Most of the migrants have since returned to Morocco. Spanish authorities said they have begun installing a 500-meter floating barrier along Ceuta's maritime border to block any additional sea arrivals at the source.
The crisis is morphing into a clash of political ideologies in Europe over migration. In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, the 22 leaders criticized that "we must not allow uncontrolled mass border crossings or the weaponization of migrants that foster the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible." They also stressed, "We have a duty to relentlessly combat illegal migration by addressing all policies that could act as pull factors, such as the legalization of very large numbers of illegal migrants." The move is seen as directly targeting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's recent push to grant amnesty to illegal migrants.
Italy signaled an effective closure of its maritime and air borders with Spain by announcing additional security screenings for non-EU passengers arriving from Spain. Finland and Denmark also expressed support for Italy's measures. Right-leaning governments and politicians in the EU blamed Spain's Supreme Court for triggering the crisis by applying different expulsion rules to sea-arrival migrants and land-crossing migrants.
Spain is pushing back hard. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, in a rebuttal letter, called some European governments' reactions "attitudes driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance or political gain," and criticized them as "contrary to European law, humanitarian regulations, and the principle of solidarity that binds us together." Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska also dismissed the far-right camp's claims, saying, "Some countries have shown a completely selfish, uncooperative and irresponsible attitude."
As controversy grew, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sought to calm the situation, saying, "The vast majority who arrived illegally have returned to Morocco thanks to effective cooperation between Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement, and not a single person has reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU."