EU split over migration after 60,000 cross into Ceuta; 22 leaders demand border crackdown

The influx and the returns

Around 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Thursday and Friday, overwhelming a city of roughly 83,000 residents. By Friday evening, Spain's interior ministry said about 37,500 had already been returned to Morocco. On Saturday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the "vast majority" had gone back, and that no one had reached mainland Spain or any other EU country. She held a videoconference with Commissioners Magnus Brunner and Dobravka Suica to assess the situation.

Good news is that the vast majority of those who arrived illegally have returned to Morocco thanks to the effective work of Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement. No person has reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU. This shows why control of our European borders matters. We have a solid system in place.

Two competing letters

The crisis exposed deep divisions. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, together with Denmark's Mette Frederiksen, initiated a letter signed by 22 EU leaders, including Germany's Friedrich Merz and Poland's Donald Tusk. The letter, addressed to the Irish presidency of the EU Council, António Costa and von der Leyen, called for an "immediate and coordinated European reaction" to prevent mass uncontrolled border crossings, improve deportation procedures, fight human trafficking and eliminate pull factors. It insisted that illegal entry must not become legal stay. France and Portugal, Spain's neighbours, did not sign.

We cannot allow mass and uncontrolled border crossings, instrumentalisation of migration or other hybrid threats to create the impression that illegal entry into the European Union is possible.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sent his own letter to von der Leyen and Costa, criticising some EU partners for "selfish" and "illegal" reactions and for suggesting Spain's temporary exclusion from the Schengen area. He demanded an extraordinary meeting of interior ministers, a call von der Leyen welcomed.

Schengen under strain

Italy suspended Schengen rules with Spain, closing maritime and air borders for one month. Finland and Denmark supported the move. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Spain did not need to leave Schengen, calling cooperation "wonderful". Madrid dismissed the exclusion threats as "demagogic". Sánchez stressed that Ceuta is not part of the Schengen zone and that Spain, according to Frontex data, is among the member states that best protect the EU's external border.

Von der Leyen's response

Von der Leyen said the EU's system must be strengthened and called for a lessons-learned process to improve European resilience. She welcomed the call for an extraordinary videoconference of interior ministers. "The fight against illegal migration requires solidarity and a united European response," she wrote. Meloni echoed that sentiment, stating that defending external borders is a shared responsibility.

The images coming from Ceuta have once again shown how urgent it is for Europe to react to illegal immigration. Defending the EU's external borders is not in the interest of one nation. It is Europe's shared responsibility.

Human cost

The Spanish government put the death toll at 67, including people who drowned and those who died in panic while trying to cross the breakwater barrier. The enclave, home to 83,000, saw its population nearly double in two days before the returns began. The rapid influx and the subsequent political fallout have laid bare the persistent tensions within the bloc over migration policy.