EU calls emergency meeting to discuss Ceuta migrant crossings

The European Union will convene an emergency meeting on Tuesday to address the ongoing migrant crisis in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave along the African coast. Over 60,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco in recent weeks, leading to tense diplomatic exchanges between Spain and several EU member states. In response to the crisis, Spain has suspended the Schengen agreement with Italy, a move backed by Finland, Denmark, and Belgium.

The EU's 22 member states have issued a joint letter emphasizing the need for coordinated action to strengthen external borders and address "hybrid threats" aimed at undermining the EU's migration policy. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed serious concerns about certain European governments' attacks on Spain, accusing migrant traffickers of exploiting a recent court decision that limits the government's authority to immediately deport sea arrivals.

Spain has largely contained the influx, with almost all migrants returning to Ceuta by 30 July, while deaths from the surge have reached at least 67. EU President Antonio Costa, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Ireland's Taoiseach Michael Martin are among the signatories on the letter addressed to EU leaders.