Most of the migrants who had reached Ceuta from Morocco within a short period have now left the Spanish exclave again. According to the Spanish government, they returned to Morocco disappointed and voluntarily, as they saw little prospect of continuing their journey and lacked accommodation and supplies, as the newspaper El País reported.
Politically, however, the situation is worsening: In a letter also signed by German Friedrich Merz, 22 of the 27 heads of state and government expressed great concern and indirectly accused Madrid of having recently given people incentives to risk the journey to the EU. The letter, initiated by Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, condemns a measure by the Spanish government to address labor shortages: the legalization of around 500,000 irregular migrants. However, only asylum seekers who submitted their applications before the end of 2025 are to benefit – not new arrivals.
Spain’s Pedro Sánchez complained in a letter to Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin about the behavior of some member states, which he said were driven by “prejudice, misinformation, ignorance, or political interests.” Martin, whose country currently holds the EU Council presidency, subsequently announced a meeting of EU interior ministers on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ceuta. France’s Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity with Spain but also tightened controls at the shared border. Italy had already temporarily suspended the Schengen Agreement with Spain on Friday and is again carrying out border checks on flights and ships.
Source: www.welt.de
