Sánchez criticizes the “selfish” attitude of some European governments over the Ceuta crisis

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has accused several European governments of acting in the Ceuta crisis driven by “prejudice, fake news, ignorance or political interest” and described their response to the migratory situation in the Spanish autonomous city as “selfish, polarizing and illegal”. In a letter sent to the leaders of the European institutions, Sánchez criticizes the reaction of some of his EU partners (without naming them) and requests an urgent meeting of Interior Ministers, after Italy suspended its Schengen cooperation with Spain and Finland and Denmark openly raised the possibility of temporarily excluding their free movement cooperation with Madrid.

Spain estimates that more than 48,000 of the around 50,000 who entered Ceuta from Morocco have already returned.

The letter from Pedro Sánchez to European institutions

I am writing to express my deep concern about the recent reaction shown by some European governments after the incident at the EU's external border in Ceuta.

As you know, around 50,000 migrants entered this Spanish territory irregularly and unexpectedly at the beginning of this week. In less than 48 hours, my Government has managed to fully restore control of the border, provide extensive humanitarian assistance, return practically all the migrants who crossed irregularly and prevent any unauthorized movement towards the European continent.

This has been achieved in close coordination with the Moroccan authorities and with very limited support from other European States, while continuing to implement the effective and solidarity-based migration policy that Spain has consistently applied in recent years. A policy that has allowed us to drastically reduce irregular arrivals through our territory, making Spain the second safest external border in the EU, despite being the only Member State with a land border with Africa.

This successful policy has also allowed us to help other Member States when they faced similar crises, such as when we welcomed several of the migrants who arrived in Eastern Europe through Belarus in 2021 and in Lampedusa in 2023.

Despite these indisputable facts, the reaction of European governments in recent hours has been quite asymmetric. Most have shown us their support and solidarity, and have offered their assistance. Others, however, have opted to attack Spain and request its temporary exclusion from the Schengen Area.

That attitude — driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance or political interests — is not only contrary to European law, humanitarian law and the principles of solidarity that unite us. It is also contrary to the long-term interests of Europe and basic common sense, because Ceuta is not part of the Schengen Area, because there are hardly any irregular migrants left to return and because Spain is, according to Frontex, one of the least permeable external borders of the European Union, with a number of irregular entries that is half that recorded, for example, in Italy in recent years (2021–2026).

In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this type of selfish, polarizing and illegal reaction.

For this reason, given the gravity of the situation, we request that the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union convene, as a matter of urgency, an extraordinary videoconference of the Interior Ministers. This meeting should allow us to establish a common response to situations of this type and reaffirm that the security of our external borders is a shared responsibility of all Member States, and not just those on the front line of the Union.

We count on your leadership to ensure that the European Union responds quickly, effectively and in a coordinated manner.