EU ready to back Spain and protect borders after Ceuta crisis, says Jim O'Callaghan

LAST UPDATE | 7 hrs ago

MINISTER JIM O’CALLAGHAN has said the EU is united and stands ready to support Spain and protect the bloc’s external borders from illegal migration.

His comments come after O’Callaghan chaired a meeting of the EU’s 27 home affairs ministers this morning which focused on Europe’s response to the crisis in Ceuta.

Last week, 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on the north-western coast of Morocco. The majority of these migrants (70,000) have returned to Morocco, Spain’s interior minister said today.

At least 75 people died in the mass movement, Spain said, although Morocco offered a lower, contradictory figure of 11.

The arrival of the large cohort sparked crisis action in Ceuta, and Spain deployed its military to the enclave. Italy moved to issue a one-month suspension of its Schengen agreement with Spain.

On Saturday, 22 EU states issued a joint open letter calling for an urgent meeting to agree a speedy coordinated response, and to prevent further uncontrolled crossings.

Ireland, which holds the presidency of the European Council, was one of four bloc members not to sign the letter. France, Portugal and Luxembourg also refrained.

It was agreed that an urgent meeting be held today, which was virtually held online. 

‘Swift response’

Following today’s meeting, O’Callaghan commended Spain for their swift response to the situation in Ceuta and extended his deepest condolences for the tragic loss of life.

“The EU’s external borders are our shared responsibility, and migration requires a united European response. Today’s meeting which I convened provided an important opportunity for member states to assess the tools already at our disposal, identify where further cooperation is needed, and advance our collective preparations ahead of the next ministerial meeting and the European Council in October,” he said. 

A statement after the meeting said that member states and the Schengen associated countries were united at the meeting in expressing strong solidarity with Spain.

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The latest update provided by the Spanish authorities and the Commission indicated that the large majority of people who crossed illegally have now been returned and there has been no onward movement to mainland Spain or other member states.

The statement went on to say there was common agreement among countries of the need to continue “relentlessly fighting migrant smuggling networks, to reinforce returns, to strengthen EU borders, to build deep partnerships with third countries, and to improve foresight”.

“These past few days were a test of our European resilience, a test of the security of our external borders,” migration commissioner Magnus Brunner told reporters following the talks.

“Europe, I think, has definitely passed this test.”

Early warning systems 

Ministers stressed the need to improve shared situational awareness, which could be achieved by further developing early-warning systems such as pre-frontier intelligence and social media monitoring.

The importance of cooperation with third countries was also highlighted, with a view of  developing partnerships. 

Ministers also pointed out that communication during moments of crisis could further be reinforced through timely coordination and should be more coherent, with efforts mentioned to counter malicious external actors engaged in foreign information manipulation and interference.

Speaking after the meeting today, Spanish interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska said last week’s surge of irregular migrants into Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta did not “compromise” Europe’s visa-free Schengen travel zone. 

France’s interior minister Laurent Nunez said EU ministers had agreed the Schengen zone was “not the problem” after calls to suspend Spain from the bloc. 

“I am very satisfied that Spain acted quickly by deploying, among others, police and military forces, and that many migrants have already returned to Morocco,” Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bodskov said in a statement.

With reporting by Christina Finn and AFP

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