Guest commentary: Europe must not simply write off the crisis in Ceuta
Morocco has outsmarted the EU. The rush on Spain's exclave was a hybrid attack, the EU should react. It has the tools to do so, argues Bruegel expert Alicia Herrero.
Around 72,000 people, primarily Moroccans, mostly floating or walking, entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, leading Madrid to expel nearly all of them within a week. It appears the matter is now concluded – such is the hope of Europe. However, this is not the case. Ceuta remains a problem, not just for Spanish authorities, but for Europe as a whole.
There are two reasons for this: firstly, Ceuta has clearly demonstrated the extent of mistrust among European leaders, particularly between those with different political backgrounds. Secondly, the European Union seems to have failed to grasp the true nature of the issue at hand. It was not a migration crisis, but an attack on Europe's territorial integrity.
An additional, albeit unlikely, possibility is that European Union member states recognized this was not truly a migration crisis, but were too afraid to admit it due to their perceived lack of tools to address the problem.
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