King Felipe VI of Spain on Tuesday condemned the deteriorating situation in Ceuta following the late July mass migrant invasion as “unacceptable,” calling on the E.U. to help protect the city’s borders which are also the union’s.
The King referred to the Spanish exclave in remarks during a gala diner at the Royal Palace of Madrid on the occasion of French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron’s official visit to Spain.
King Felipe called on the European Union to be “more effective and show greater solidarity” in protecting the Union’s borders, referring to the mass migrant invasion of Ceuta.
“What happened in Ceuta this summer, the massive influx of tens of thousands of people crossing a Spanish border — which is also a European border — is unacceptable and poses a major challenge from the standpoint of security, public order, and humanitarian concerns,” King Felipe said.
King Felipe insisted the situation of Ceuta “must lead to strengthened collaboration” among E.U. member states when it comes to resources and cooperation.
The Spanish King noted European nations geographically located on the E.U.’s external borders face greater pressure and cannot “shoulder alone a responsibility that belongs to us all.”
During his remarks, King Felipe also expressed his support for the European Union, noting that it has now been four decades since Spain decided to join the European communities. Since then, the King affirmed, Europe became “our common home, whose foundations are freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.”
“And it is precisely now, in these turbulent times, when there is so much talk of the collapse of the international order, the realignment of the major powers, trade protectionism, and the gradual disconnection of value chains, that having a common home for all Europeans becomes all the more important,” the King said.
“Now is when we need the best version of Europe,” he added.
Per the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, King Felipe VI also emphasized the need for Europe to continue to become more independent in its own defense and to become “increasingly united” when it comes to justice, home affairs, and security matters such as the fight against drug trafficking — highlighting his country’s decades-long cooperation with France in that regard.
King Felipe reportedly availed himself of the opportunity to thank President Macron — who will leave office next year — for his “firm commitment for his to the construction of Europe and to international law, as well as for his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations with Spain.”
RTVE, and other Spanish outlets, pointed out that King Felipe’s encounter with Macron at the gala diner ocurred on the very same day that the Spanish Senate shut down a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation agreement signed between socialist Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez and Macron three years ago in Barcelona.