🔶 Migration crisis in Ceuta takes Europe to an emergency meeting

🔶 Migration crisis in Ceuta takes Europe to an emergency meeting

The migration crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, in North Africa, has led to a serious dispute within the European Union. The current rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, which is now held by Ireland, announced on the social media platform X that the ministers of the EU member states will discuss the “developments in Ceuta” at an emergency meeting on Tuesday, August 4 (13 Mordad).

While several EU member countries have criticized the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist prime minister of Spain, described the reaction of some member countries as “selfish” and “in violation of the law.”

The emergency meeting of EU interior ministers will be held both at Sánchez’s request and at the request of the leaders of 22 out of the EU’s 27 member states.

In a joint letter from the leaders of these 22 countries, it is stated that recent developments in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on the border with Morocco, require an “urgent and coordinated response from Europe.”

The letter emphasizes that “extensive and uncontrolled border crossings, the instrumental use of migration, or other hybrid threats should not be allowed to create the impression that illegal entry into the European Union is possible.”

The letter—also signed by Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor—adds that it also must not be allowed that “illegal entry ultimately turns into legal residence.”

This wording can be assessed as a hint at the Spanish government, which since spring of this year has begun granting residence permits to hundreds of thousands of migrants who do not have legal documentation.