Why has EU called an emergency meeting on Spain migrant surge?

Published 2 August 2026 · europe

In a joint letter, 22 member states call for ‘strengthening of external borders’ after nearly 60,000 migrants enter Ceuta. The European Union has called an

In a joint letter, 22 member states call for ‘strengthening of external borders’ after nearly 60,000 migrants enter Ceuta. The European Union has called an emergency meeting after about 60,000 migrants entered Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta over a few days. Spain’s coastguard is patrolling the waters near Ceuta with the authorities on Sunday saying most of the migrants who crossed over have already been returned to neighbouring Morocco. At least 72 people died while trying to reach the enclave in the territory’s largest ever mass migration. Here’s what we know What happened in Ceuta? Ceuta’s population is just 84,000, but from Wednesday to Friday, an estimated 60,000 migrants entered the territory, Ceuta’s top official Juan Jesus Vivas said. Spain’s Ministry of Interior put the figure at 50,000. Many people swam from Morocco using wetsuits and inflatables and got around the border fence by swimming through or pushing through the wire. Local authorities said reception centres were overwhelmed, and they called for an emergency response. “I crossed through the sand at the beginning of Castillejos, then climbed over a wall belonging to the Moroccan police. Then I entered across the border by swimming. Well, I swam about 200 metres [220 yards] in the sea, and that’s all,” a Moroccan migrant told the Reuters news agency. By Saturday, however, “almost all” had left and the situation in the territory had practically returned to normal, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said. The scale of the influx was far bigger than the last such event in May 2021. Vivas said at the time that about 12,000 people crossed the border from Morocco into Ceuta over two days. Ceuta was colonised by Spain in 1580 and remains under its control. It is one of only two remaining European-held territories on the African mainland, along with Melilla. The enclave, a main entry point into Spain and the EU for asylum seekers and immigrants, is surrounded by high border fences, surveillance systems and a permanent deployment of Spain’s Civil Guard and Police. Why did the EU call an emergency meeting?

Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said it had called an emergency video conference meeting of the bloc’s interior ministers to discuss the crisis on Tuesday. The meeting was called after 22 of the EU’s 27 member states issued a joint letter calling for “coordinated action and the strengthening of external borders”. “We cannot allow uncontrolled mass crossings, the instrumentalisation of migration or other hybrid threats to create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible. And, that a migrant’s illegal entry can turn into legal stay,” they said. Meanwhile, Italy suspended its Schengen open-border policy with Spain. Madrid condemned the move, and its practical effect remains unclear, given the two countries do not share a border. France and Britain expressed “solidarity” with Spain, but France also announced a five-fold increase in the number of police at its border with Spain. Portugal also said it would beef up controls at its southern land and maritime borders. A leading conservative European politician called for the European border agency to have more powers. “I want us to give Frontex, our European external border agency, meaning our border protection in Europe, real enforcement powers,” Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party, said on Saturday. “If a left-wing government in Spain is not willing to secure the external border, then Frontex must also be given command authority,” Weber said. “Then Europe must also go to this border and restore order.” Spain’s government is led by the Socialist Workers’ Party. What could have triggered the migration surge? It was not clear why this happened now. One possible reason for the timing could be a Spanish Supreme Court ruling on July 8 that said migrants intercepted at sea cannot be summarily returned. The ruling does not apply to those who enter Spain by land. “Without a doubt, the July 8 ruling … has played a role,” said Ignacio Cembrero, a Spanish journalist who specialises in migration in North Africa. “But that doesn’t explain the level of mobilisation.” Other experts have questioned this theory, saying few migrants would have been aware of the court ruling.