Spanish PM Sanchez faces criticism as EU meets over Ceuta crossings
Al Jazeera – News
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is facing growing criticism from some European leaders as European Union interior ministers meet to discuss last week’s mass crossing into the Spanish territory of Ceuta, an episode that has reignited debate over migration across the bloc. Human rights groups and activists, meanwhile, have accused far-right politicians of exploiting the crisis to advance anti-immigration narratives. More than 60,000 people crossed into the North African enclave on Thursday and Friday, triggering a humanitarian emergency and prompting Spain to deploy additional military and police forces. More than 80 migrants died, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities, including some who drowned or were crushed while attempting to cross a breakwater barrier. The events in Ceuta have once again exposed divisions within the EU over migration policy, with several governments calling for a tougher approach while others have urged adherence to humanitarian and international legal obligations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was among Sanchez’s sharpest critics, announcing that Italy would introduce temporary air and sea border controls with Spain while questioning Madrid’s handling of the situation. According to the EU’s border agency Frontex, irregular border crossings peaked at 1.8 million in 2015. The scenes in Ceuta have nevertheless become a focal point in wider political debates over migration, despite the EU already introducing stricter migration and asylum rules that expand member states’ powers to detain migrants and return them to designated “safe countries” or facilities outside the bloc. Human rights organisations have criticised the measures, warning they could leave asylum seekers stranded for prolonged periods in offshore detention centres, while illegal police pushbacks at borders still regularly occur in both the EU and North Africa. Officials have also said that a recent ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court, which found that migrants arriving by sea cannot be summarily returned without due process, was deliberately misrepresented by smuggling networks to encourage people to attempt the crossing.
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The vast majority of migrants have left the North African enclave and returned to Morocco.
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