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After Sparring over Ceuta, EU States Seek Lessons from Crisis

AFP (via Asharq Al-Awsat) · back to the audit

EU countries will seek on Tuesday to draw early lessons from the Ceuta crisis following a mass migrant rush on the Spanish enclave that strained relations between Madrid and harder-line EU states.

Almost all of the roughly 60,000 who entered Ceuta have since left.

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen: "uncontrolled immigration poses a threat to Europe."

The 22-country letter was "led by Italy, Denmark, Germany and Hungary."

France distanced itself, saying the move "amounted to exploiting the situation in Ceuta for political ends."

Von der Leyen urged the bloc to "double down" in five areas: preventing irregular migration via partner cooperation, strengthening external borders, early warning systems, dismantling smuggling networks, and reinforcing returns; she called Tuesday's meeting a "first step," with leaders to revisit the issue at an October summit.

Suspending Spain from Schengen is "legally impossible under EU rules."

At Monday's EU ambassadors' talks, Spain's envoy voiced "frustration"; some states questioned whether Spanish policies signaled that "the doors are open."