EU calls emergency meeting to discuss Ceuta migrant crossings

What the report says

The European Union is set to hold emergency talks on Tuesday over the migration crisis involving Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, after a sharp dispute between Madrid and several other EU governments. The BBC reported that 22 member states signed a joint letter urging coordinated action and stronger protection of the bloc’s external borders following the arrival of a large number of migrants from Morocco.

According to the article, Spain said the reaction from some EU partners was unfair and harmful, after Italy temporarily suspended Schengen border-free arrangements with Spain and Finland and Denmark backed that step. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, wrote separately to EU leaders saying his government had quickly regained control of the border and stopped onward movement into mainland Europe. He also said some governments had acted out of prejudice, misinformation or political calculation.

BBC World News said officials in Spain believed almost all of the migrants who reached Ceuta on 30 July had now returned to Morocco, and that deaths linked to the crossings had risen to at least 67. The enclave, together with Melilla, is one of the EU’s only land borders with Africa and has long been a pressure point in migration politics, especially in summer. The dispute also highlights wider tensions inside the EU over migration policy, border controls and the Schengen system.