EU calls for Spain to be suspended from Schengen over Ceuta migration crisis
Photo: Tens of thousands of migrants have breached the border between Morocco and Spain (Getty Images)
Leaders of several European countries have called for Spain’s suspension from the Schengen Area due to the large-scale migration crisis in Ceuta, according to The Guardian and El País.
In particular, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson calls on Spain to "act swiftly to regain control of the situation and fulfil its commitments within Schengen cooperation."
"If the developments were to risk affecting Sweden’s security or migration situation, the government is prepared to take the measures required to safeguard order and control," he adds.
Dutch Interior Minister Tom Berendsen described the events in Ceuta as "concerning."
"We are counting on Spain to do what is necessary to protect the EU’s external borders and on Morocco also taking the necessary steps," he notes.
Finland supported Italy's proposal
Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen stated that all EU countries should support Italy’s proposal to suspend Spain’s Schengen status. According to her, Rome is already considering this possibility, as previously confirmed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
"Spain has completely failed to protect the Schengen Area's external border from infiltration. This cannot continue. All European countries must support Meloni's proposal. Countries that do not fulfill their obligation to protect the external border cannot be members of Schengen," she writes on X.
Rantanen states that the situation in Ceuta reflects the utter failure of Spanish migration policy and calls the events of Thursday, July 30, a migration invasion.
The Spanish city of Ceuta, an autonomous enclave of the country in North Africa, is facing its most severe migration crisis in recent years.
Over the past 24 hours, up to 50,000 migrants may have entered the enclave illegally, including about 7,000 minors. To stabilize the situation and maintain public order, authorities have deployed army units.
