The unprecedented crisis in Ceuta, reached by some 50,000 illegal migrants, is no longer a purely local challenge for Madrid; it has prompted a diplomatic response from other European countries and is causing concern over the borders’ security, not only in neighbouring countries.
The Spanish enclave in North Africa has witnessed the largest influx of migrants since the major crisis of May 2021, when more than 10,000 people managed to cross the only land border between the European Union and the African continent at Melilla in the space of two days, another Spanish enclave on Moroccan territory.
The rapid deterioration of the situation on the Spanish-Moroccan border could trigger large-scale destabilisation of migration flows across Europe, including the risk of an uncontrolled influx of irregular migrants into the UK. Therefore, the sudden influx of migrants has clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of the European Union’s borders and raised the question of revising the approaches to border security adopted by key continental powers.
In the meantime, acute discontent within the European Union has intensified following the decision measure in April this year by Spain’s socialist government to grant a large-scale amnesty to undocumented foreigners. Several leading European politicians believe that it was this move by Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet that acted as the catalyst for the current crisis, creating false expectations and encouraging illegal border crossings.
The legalisation of thousands of migrants has, in effect, opened the borders to potential threats to national security across Europe, making Ceuta a key point of entry.
In neighbouring France, critics point to a direct link between Madrid’s domestic policy and the security of neighbouring countries. Specifically, calls are being made for the immediate implementation of the Return Directive and the introduction of strict border controls on the border with Spain to prevent illegal migration flows from appearing on the French streets.
Although in France concerns have been voiced only by opposition figures such as Bellamy, Bardella and Dupont-Aignan, in Italy Giorgia Meloni said she is prepared to take emergency measures. The Italian government directly attributes the events in Ceuta to Madrid’s flawed migration policy, and is considering the possibility of suspending the Schengen Agreement with regard to Spain and closing its national borders to prevent chaotic migration across the Apennine Peninsula.
Meanwhile, for the UK, which lies at the crossroads of the final routes of illegal transit, the influx from Ceuta poses a direct threat of exacerbating the English Channel crisis.
Events in Ceuta have laid bare a deep systemic rift in the EU’s migration strategy. Unilateral steps by certain governments to regularise the status of foreign nationals are undermining the European Union’s overall security and forcing other partners to revert to strict national border controls.
