Ceuta crisis sparks emergency EU meeting requests as Sánchez rejects Schengen criticism

In letters sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Sánchez requested an urgent videoconference to coordinate a common European approach to similar incidents in the future.

The appeal comes after around 50,000 migrants entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco earlier this week, triggering one of the largest sudden migration incidents ever experienced on the European Union’s external border.

Sánchez argued that Spain restored control of the situation within 48 hours through close cooperation with the Moroccan authorities, while providing humanitarian assistance, preventing onward travel into the rest of Europe and returning almost all of those who had crossed irregularly.

The Spanish government maintains that Ceuta, although European Union territory, lies outside the Schengen free-travel area. Anyone travelling onwards from Ceuta or neighbouring Melilla to mainland Spain must undergo police identity checks by air or sea, creating an additional layer of border control. Spanish officials insist that irregular entry into Ceuta does not give migrants the right to remain in Spain or move freely across the Schengen zone.

Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that ‘the integrity of the Schengen Area is absolutely guaranteed’, stressing that virtually all those who entered Ceuta had already returned to Morocco.

Spain has also rejected suggestions that its recently approved migrant regularisation programme encouraged the surge into Ceuta. The government notes that applicants must prove they were already living in Spain before 1 January 2026, and demonstrate at least five months of continuous residence before applying.

During a visit to Ceuta on Friday, Sánchez described the mass crossings as a violation of Spain’s territorial sovereignty and said returns were being accelerated with Morocco’s cooperation.

In his letter to EU leaders, Sánchez expressed ‘deep concern’ over calls from some member states to suspend Spain from the Schengen area, arguing that such proposals were based on ‘prejudice, misinformation, ignorance or political interests’.

He said they were incompatible with European law, international humanitarian law and the principle of solidarity between EU member states.

In the strongly worded letter, Sánchez describes the response from some EU partners as ‘rather asymmetric’.

‘Most have shown us their support and solidarity, and have offered their assistance,’ the Spanish premier writes in the letter.

‘Others, however, have chosen to attack Spain and to call for its temporary exclusion from the Schengen Area,’ he continued, in an apparent reference to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, which on Friday announced it would suspend freedom of movement with Spain, even as migrants were returning to Morocco.

‘In the current international context, the EU cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction,’ Sánchez wrote.

He also defended Spain’s record on migration, noting that it is the only EU country with a land border with Africa and pointing to Frontex data which, he said, shows Spain has one of the least permeable external borders in the bloc.

Sánchez further argued that Spain has repeatedly shown solidarity during previous migration emergencies affecting other EU countries, including accepting migrants transferred from the Belarus-EU border in 2021 and from Italy’s island of Lampedusa in 2023.

At the same time, 22 of the EU’s 27 member states separately called for an emergency videoconference of interior ministers to assess the situation and agree a coordinated European response.

The joint letter, initiated by Italian PM Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, warned that the events in Ceuta required immediate collective action to protect the EU’s external frontier and prevent further irregular crossings.

‘We have a duty to effectively deter and relentlessly combat illegal migration,’ the letter stated.

It also declared: ‘We cannot allow uncontrolled mass crossings, the instrumentalisation of migration or other hybrid threats to create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible.’

The signatories called for the rapid mobilisation of EU resources, including possible additional support from Frontex, the bloc’s border agency, together with a review of EU cooperation with Morocco. They also acknowledged that ‘no unauthorised onward movements have been recorded towards Europe’.

Among those signing the letter were German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the prime ministers of Hungary, Sweden and Poland. France, Portugal, Luxembourg, Spain and Ireland did not join the initiative.

The diplomatic dispute intensified after Italy temporarily suspended its Schengen arrangements with Spain for one month, with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani describing the measure as ‘a necessary decision to protect the security of our citizens and defend Europe’s borders’.

Meloni, whose government launched the initiative for emergency talks, described images from Ceuta as ‘shocking’.

France adopted a different position. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez ruled out seeking Spain’s suspension from Schengen, saying: ‘Spain does not need to leave the Schengen zone. It’s absolutely not on the table. We have great cooperation with Spain.’

However, he confirmed that France would strengthen police checks along its border with Spain as a precautionary measure.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also sought to calm concerns, saying the ‘great majority”‘of those who had crossed into Ceuta had already returned to Morocco and that ‘not a single person’ had reached mainland Spain or any other part of the European Union.

‘This shows why the control of our European borders matters. We have a strong system in place. But it needs to be further strengthened,’ she wrote on X.

She thanked both the Spanish and Moroccan security forces for what she described as their ‘effective work’ and said the episode demonstrated the importance of strong external border management.

Von der Leyen added that the crisis highlighted the need to monitor every critical point of entry closely and improve the European Union’s resilience against similar incidents in the future.

By the weekend, Spanish authorities said the situation in Ceuta had largely returned to normal, with almost all of those who entered having already gone back to Morocco. Officials said those still remaining in the enclave would either be returned under existing procedures or face lengthy legal processes while staying in government-run reception facilities.