Spain raises 72,000 migrants in Ceuta and asks the EU for a united response
Updated 3 months ago2 new reports, including El Pais, 20minutos.
The short version
Spain recorded the irregular entry of 72,000 migrants into Ceuta in less than a week. Of these, 70,000 have already returned to Morocco. The EU acknowledged the work of Spain and Morocco, but called for a coordinated response for autonomous cities.
Spain counted 72,000 irregular arrivals of migrants in Ceuta between July 31 and August 4.5,8 Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said 70,000 of those migrants had already returned to Morocco by August 4.5,8 Marlaska insisted that neither the CNI nor other intelligence services warned of a possible mass arrival.6,7
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, defended the work of the CNI and called on Morocco to investigate "until the end" the causes of the massive entry.3 Robles declared that "Ceuta and Melilla do not touch" and guaranteed that the Army will support the Civil Guard in the autonomous city.3 Judge María Tardón of the National High Court requested a report from the National Police to determine if there was concerted action by a "criminal group".1
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the "efficient" management of Spain and Morocco during the crisis.2 Von der Leyen called for a united EU response to address the situation in Ceuta and Melilla.2 The European Commissioner for the Interior and Migration, Magnus Brunner, denied the link between the regularisation of migrants in Spain and the crisis in Ceuta.9
Brunner warned that regularisation sends a "bad signal" to the EU, although he saw no direct link to the crisis.9 Morocco said it had alerted Spain about a possible mass entry, according to statements collected by Spanish media.7 A Homeland Security official was fired after sending a message about arrivals during her vacation.10
The ministers of the Interior and Defense disagree on the previous information that Spain had about the possible mass arrival.10
“Ceuta and Melilla do not touch”
“Investigate to the end who is behind this tragedy”
“Spain's extraordinary work in managing the migration crisis in Ceuta has been recognised by all EU countries”
“We do not see a direct link between regularization and incidents in Ceuta”
Where outlets disagree
- Morocco claimed to have alerted Spain about a possible mass entry, while the Spanish Government denied having received prior information from the CNI or other intelligence services.7
Why it matters
Ceuta and Melilla are the only autonomous cities in Spain located on the African continent, on the border with Morocco, which makes them recurrent points of migratory pressure towards the EU.4
The National Intelligence Center (CNI) is the Spanish intelligence service in charge of collecting and analyzing information for national security.3,6
The Schengen area allows free movement between 26 European countries, but irregular entries into Ceuta sparked debate over its possible compromise.8
This account was written from the 10 reports listed below, filed by 3 independent outlets, and checked against them line by line. It is not a copy of any one of them. Spotted an error? Tell us.
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