Spain attacks 'selfish' response of some EU countries to Ceuta migrant crossings
Spain has condemned the "selfish, polarising and unlawful" reaction of some EU countries to the influx of about 60,000 migrants from Morocco to Ceuta. Officials
Spain has condemned the "selfish, polarising and unlawful" reaction of some EU countries to the influx of about 60,000 migrants from Morocco to Ceuta. Officials say almost all whose who reached the enclave on 30 July have returned, while Spain's interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to 67.
It comes after Italy temporarily suspended the EU's border-free Schengen arrangement with Spain, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the scenes "shocking". Finland and Denmark backed Italy's move, while Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš urged a temporary suspension of Spain's Schengen membership. In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had "serious concern" about some European governments.
He said the Spanish government had fully restored control over the border and prevented any "unauthorised onward movement towards continental Europe" in less than 48 hours. While most had showed "support and solidarity", Sanchez said other European governments had chosen to attack Spain, "driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest", and pointed out that Ceuta was not part of the Schengen area.
"The European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction," he said.
The BriefWire