Addressing reporters following three hours of talks with the bloc’s interior ministers, EU migration chief Magnus Brunner said the crisis had “tested” Europe’s border security, its “resilience to disinformation” and “solidarity” among member states.
“Europe, I think, has definitely passed this test,” said the commissioner. “It was a crisis, but now fortunately, it has been resolved.”
Spain moved swiftly to send migrants back from Ceuta, confirming on Tuesday that of 72,000 people who entered the enclave from Morocco last week, all but 2,000 have returned.
Some 77 migrants died attempting to reach Ceuta, Spanish officials said on Tuesday, raising the estimated toll from 72.
But the sight of tens of thousands of people streaming into Ceuta – with dozens dying in the attempt – was pounced on by right-wing voices on both sides of the Atlantic as evidence Europe is under siege from “uncontrolled” immigration.
And it left Madrid isolated on the EU stage, with 22 of 27 countries backing a joint call for firmer action against illegal immigration – and suggesting Spain’s migration policies were part of the problem.
The government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has backed a more open approach to migration than many EU counterparts, namely hardliners like Italy and Denmark which advocated suspending Spain from the Schengen free-travel area over the Ceuta crisis.
Madrid firmly rejected that notion – in any case impossible under EU law – with Sanchez writing to the heads of the EU’s institutions at the weekend to berate the “selfish” stance of fellow member states. (AFP)
