Spanish PM calls for urgent EU meeting after ‘selfish’ responses to Ceuta crisis
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has requested an urgent EU meeting following a mass border crossing in Ceuta that resulted in dozens of deaths. The incident has caused diplomatic friction, with Italy suspending Schengen arrangements with Spain.
Why it matters
The crisis highlights deep divisions within the European Union regarding migration policy and the management of external borders.
Spain ’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez , has called for an urgent meeting of EU interior ministers after what he called some member states’ “selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction” to this week’s mass border crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta , in North Africa.
It comes after he confirmed “virtually all” the irregular migrants had been returned, “preventing any unauthorised onward movement towards continental Europe”.
However, he has asked for the meeting following what appears to be a breakdown of EU unity on external border policy, with Italy attacking Spain.
More than 50,000 people crossed into the territory from Morocco on Thursday and Friday, with at least 67 people dying in the attempt. Some drowned, while others were crushed as they tried to cross a breakwater barrier.
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