In a critical gathering that underscores the urgency of immigration issues, Spain’s Interior Minister is poised for a high-stakes meeting with EU allies. This virtual summit on Tuesday aims to extract vital lessons from the recent surge of migrants into Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave.
The dramatic influx, which saw approximately 60,000 individuals crossing from Morocco into Ceuta—tragically resulting in the death of dozens—has illuminated deep divides within the European Union’s approach to migration. Despite the mass entry, almost all migrants have since exited the region.
Footage of migrants navigating the waters around barriers separating Ceuta from Morocco thrust the Spanish government into a contentious position against several EU peers, sparking intense debates over migration policies.
The EU’s interior ministers convened via video link, seeking unity amid diversity in migration policy—a task that portends either resolution or deeper divisions.
As Spain enacted rapid measures to return migrants from Ceuta—where 2,500 reportedly lingered as of Monday—Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez advocates for a more open-door policy, a stance that contrasts sharply with many of his EU colleagues.
Countries pushing a harder line are led most vocally by Italy — whose Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has attacked Madrid’s stance, and specifically a recent push to grant legal status to undocumented migrants already in the country.
Both Italy and Denmark last week advocated suspending Spain from the Schengen free-travel area over the Ceuta crisis — a notion firmly rejected by Madrid, and which in any case is legally impossible under EU rules.
‘Not a minor incident’
In a letter to the heads of the EU’s institutions Saturday, Sanchez accused fellow EU countries of having “selfish” attitudes and called for emergency talks to work on a “common response” to such incidents.
Within hours, 22 countries led by Italy, Denmark, Germany and Hungary sent a counter-letter also demanding urgent talks, but with a different goal: to continue pressing their tough stance on immigration.
In a taste of what to expect, preparatory talks among the bloc’s EU ambassadors on Monday saw Spain’s envoy voice “frustration” with a perceived lack of support from fellow capitals, one EU diplomat told the Agence-France Presse (AFP) news agency.
Conversely — while all assured Madrid of their “solidarity” — some member states “are asking themselves if recent policies adopted by Spain have not sent the signal that the doors are open”, added the diplomat.
The EU has significantly tightened its migration rules in recent months, including by allowing member states to send failed asylum seekers to so-called “return hubs” located outside the bloc’s borders.
Italy was expected Tuesday to renew its push for the EU to set up such hubs in various African countries, on the model of an existing deal between Rome and Albania.
Rwanda and Uganda are among a dozen nations that have been scouted as potential partners to host such centres.
“I understand Spain’s frustration with its failed migration policy, but we have a duty to protect Italy’s borders,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“What happened in Ceuta is not a minor incident; it poses a risk to the entire union.”
EU heavyweight France has distanced itself from the 22-country initiative, saying it amounted to exploiting the situation in Ceuta for political ends.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has commended Sanchez’s “swift handling” of the crisis, welcoming Tuesday’s talks as a first step towards forging a “common European response”.
The commission chief has urged the bloc to “double down” in five areas: preventing irregular migration in the first place via cooperation with partner states; strengthening external borders; implementing early warning systems; dismantling smuggling networks and reinforcing returns.