Brussels – Faced with the migration crisis in Ceuta, the European Commission is taking action to support Spain. The Commission is not standing idly by, assures the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Magnus Brunner: “We are in contact with the relevant authorities regarding developments in the situation,” he said. He added that the European Commission is acting on two fronts, one internal and the other external: on the one hand, there is a willingness to help the Spanish government manage the arrivals, and on the other, efforts are being made to persuade the Moroccan government to prevent departures.
“We have informed Minister [of the Spanish Interior, Fernando] Grande-Marlaska that the European Union is willing to increase its support for Spain, including through Frontex, to bring the situation under control,” Brunner said. In addition to making arrangements to strengthen the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency, “we are also monitoring the situation with the Moroccan authorities to ensure that every necessary effort is made to prevent these dangerous journeys.”
This is proof that the government in Madrid is working to try to curb and control the wave of migrants arriving in the Spanish exclave in North Africa. “We are mobilising all the necessary resources, working with the Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normality as soon as possible,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said from the outset. Now the European Commission has responded, including through an irritated Ursula von der Leyen: “The images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable. We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules,” commented the president of the EU executive branch. She showed then her determination in being ready to take a hard line: “Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow“.
On the instructions of von der Leyen herself, the Commissioner for Migration is working closely with Spain and is “ready to travel to critical hotspots”, the President of the European Commission says. Brunner will also provide “further operational support” to Spain. The Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, has been tasked with managing operations alongside her Moroccan counterpart. “I am confident that our close cooperation with Morocco will help achieve concrete results,” says von der Leyen.
Meanwhile, the political debate continues unabated. The Spanish and European right are criticising the “Sánchez model”, which they deem a failure in managing migration. In light of the
clash between Rome and Madrid, the PD MEP,
Sandro Ruotolo, has gone on the offensive against the governing majority: “Meloni is attacking Spain and calling Schengen into question. But what is her alternative in the face of thousands of people attempting to swim to European shores? Walls? The army? Turning the Mediterranean into a fortress? Pedro Sánchez, on the other hand, dares to state a truth we share:
immigration cannot be eradicated through propaganda; it must be managed.” Faced with this crisis, as with others, he insists, “the choice is not between welcoming everyone or rejecting everyone. It is between managing immigration or being at its mercy.”
