SPANISH prime minister Pedro Sanchez has launched a stinging attack on the ‘selfish, polarising and unlawful’ reaction of some European allies to the ongoing migration crisis in Ceuta.
On Friday evening, Italy announced it was suspending the Schengen free movement agreement with Spain following chaotic scenes on Thursday and Friday, when an estimated 60,000 migrants breached the border separating Morocco from the tiny Spanish enclave.
The move was backed by the governments of Finland and Denmark, while Czech prime minister Andrej Babis urged a temporary suspension of Spain’s Schengen membership over the apparent total collapse in border security.
That reaction has prompted an angry response from Madrid, including foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares, who noted that ‘the vast majority of those who entered Ceuta have already returned to Morocco’ and said that it is impossible to travel from the enclave to mainland Spain without passing through police controls.
“The integrity of the Schengen area is absolutely guaranteed. Enough of this deliberate confusion,” he wrote on X.
Sanchez went even further on Saturday morning, penning a heated letter to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in which he slammed those who have called for Spain to be suspended from the passport-free Schengen area.
“In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction,” he said, adding that ‘in less than 48 hours’ Spain had ‘succeeded in fully restoring control over the border’ and ‘returning virtually all of the migrants who crossed irregularly’.
He wrote: “The reaction of European governments has been rather asymmetric. Most have shown us their support and solidarity, and have offered their assistance.
“Others, however, have chosen to attack Spain and to call for its temporary exclusion from the Schengen area.
“Such an attitude – driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance or political interest – is not only contrary to European law, humanitarian law and the principles of solidarity that bind us together.
“It is also contrary to Europe’s long-term interests and the most basic common sense.
“Ceuta is not part of the Schengen area, there are almost no irregular migrants left unreturned and Spain is, according to Frontex, one of the least porous external borders of the EU, with a number of irregular entries that is half that recorded, for example, in Italy.”
Later on Saturday morning, a separate letter was sent to von der Leyen, this time signed by 22 EU leaders including the prime minister of Italy and chancellor of Germany.
“We cannot allow uncontrolled mass crossings, the instrumentalisation of migration or other hybrid threats to create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible,” the letter said.
“Such a perception would encourage further attempts, undermine confidence in our common migration policy and have repercussions for all Member States.”
The signatories also called for emergency talks between EU leaders to discuss the issue.
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