Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has accused fellow European Union leaders of being “selfish” for expressing concerns and enacting border restrictions in the wake of tens of thousands of illegal migrants flooding into Ceuta this week.
The North African city of Ceuta, which stands as a territorial exclave of Spain bordering Morocco, was overrun this week by a flood of aliens seeking to reach European Union territory. Estimates put the number of illegal entries at upwards of 60,000, overwhelming the border protections and nearly equalling the entire population of the city within just days.
The dramatic scenes of tens of thousands of African migrants breaching the gates of EU territory recalled memories of the Europe Migrant Crisis of 2015 and immediately sparked a wave of condemnations of the Socialist government in Madrid from fellow EU leaders, who demanded that Spain protect their common border. Some went even further, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni enacting emergency border controls with Spain, suspending the free movement under the Schengen agreement.
On Saturday, a group of 22 European leaders issued a letter calling for an emergency meeting on the issue of Ceuta. The leaders warned of the potential “repercussions of uncontrolled crossings of the border” at the Spanish exclave, which the letter argued, “may encourage other attempts of this kind.”
“We cannot allow massive and uncontrolled crossings, the instrumentalisation of migration, or other hybrid threats that create the perception that it is possible to enter the European Union illegally and that an illegal entry can later become a legal stay,” the letter stated.
In a letter of his own, addressed to EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, Prime Minister Sánchez claims that within two days, his government has “fully restored control of the border” and has returned “almost all” illegal immigrants who crossed in recent days, while accusing his critics of being “selfish”.
The Spanish PM said per El Mundo that the decision to impose border restrictions was motivated by “prejudices, fake news, ignorance, or political interests,” and goes against “European Law, humanitarian Law, and the principles of solidarity” among member states.
“It is also contrary to Europe’s long-term interests and the most basic common sense, because Ceuta is not part of the Schengen area, because there are almost no irregular migrants left without being returned, and because Spain is, according to Frontex, one of the least permeable external borders of the European Union,” Sánchez said.
Furthermore, the Socialist leader said: “In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarizing, and illegal reaction.”
While the exact impetus for such a large-scale attempt to storm the EU border currently remains unknown, the incident comes in the wake of a massive amnesty scheme to regularise the illegal migrant inhabitants of Spain. Critics of the scheme had previously warned that it would act as a pull factor for further illegal immigration.
Even before the crisis in Ceuta, there were calls for Spain to be removed from the EU’s open internal border Schengen area over its decision to legalise over a million illegal migrants through the amnesty scheme.
In an apparent attempt to ease tensions within the bloc, EU President Ursula von der Leyen claimed on Saturday that “not a single person reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU” as a result of the incident in Ceuta this week.
“This shows why the control of our European borders matters. We have a strong system in place. But it needs to be further strengthened. We must remain vigilant at every critical entry point and maintain close coordination between all authorities,” she said.
“At the same time, we need a lessons learned process to improve our European resilience. The Commission has offered support to Spain from the first moment… Fighting illegal migration requires solidarity and a united European response.”