Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for EU interior ministers to hold a videoconference on the incidents in Ceuta, according to a letter he sent to the heads of the European institutions and seen by AFP.
In the letter, Sánchez sharply criticised what he described as the “selfish” stance of some EU countries. His remarks came after thousands of migrants from Morocco reached the Spanish enclave of Ceuta by irregular routes.
Several countries responded by calling for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen area. Ceuta, however, is not part of the Schengen zone.
“Such an attitude — driven by prejudice, disinformation, ignorance or political interests — is not only contrary to European law, humanitarian law and the principles of solidarity that unite us, it also runs counter to Europe’s long-term interests,” Sánchez wrote.
On Friday evening, Sánchez had already voiced his frustration on social media platform X. “Solidarity and empathy are optional. Respect for the European treaties and the facts is not,” he wrote.
He also shared Frontex figures on irregular border crossings between 2021 and 2026, which showed that Italy’s total was almost twice as high as Spain’s. The post appeared to be an implicit rebuke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was the first to call for Spain to be suspended from Schengen.
Italy also introduced border checks on Friday evening for maritime and air traffic arriving from Spain.
