European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday called for a common European response to strengthen the EU’s borders after the migration crisis in Ceuta triggered diplomatic tensions across the bloc.
In a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, seen by AFP, von der Leyen said the incident showed the EU must go further in reinforcing its borders at its most sensitive crossing points.
She said possible measures included increased surveillance and, where necessary, the use of physical barriers. At the same time, she stressed that protecting the EU’s external borders was a shared European responsibility.
The unprecedented influx of migrants who forced their way into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa has fuelled sharp tensions among the EU’s 27 member states.
After images emerged of tens of thousands of people entering the territory irregularly from Morocco, several member states, led by Italy and Denmark, quickly called for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen area.
The demand, politically explosive and legally impossible under EU law, prompted anger in Madrid.
Spain, denouncing what it called the “selfish” attitude of several countries, asked for a meeting of EU interior ministers.
That meeting, to be held by video conference, is scheduled for Tuesday.
Von der Leyen said the talks would help draw lessons from the Ceuta crisis and shape a common European response to the challenges posed by irregular migration.
In recent months, Brussels has already tightened its migration rules significantly, including by allowing member states to send rejected asylum seekers to centres outside the EU’s borders, so-called “return hubs”.
