EU offered Spain support ‘from first moment’ of Ceuta crisis, says von der Leyen, after Sánchez hits out – Europe live

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Von der Leyen: 'Not a single person reached mainland Spain or rest of EU'

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she welcomed calls from leaders for a meeting to “take stock of what has happened” in Ceuta, but maintained that the EU had offered help to Spain “from the first moment”.

Her remarks were likely a response to criticism from the Spanish prime minister, who accused Europe of providing “little support” in dealing with the border crisis and called for an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers to address the situation.

In a post on X, Von der Leyen said:

double quotation markThe good news is that the vast majority of those who arrived illegally have returned to Morocco, due to the effective work of Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement. Not a single person reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU. This shows why the control of our European borders matters. We have a strong system in place. But it needs to be further strengthened.”

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she welcomed calls from leaders for a meeting to “take stock of what has happened” in Ceuta, but maintained that the EU had offered help to Spain “from the first moment”.

Her remarks were likely a response to criticism from the Spanish prime minister, who accused Europe of providing “little support” in dealing with the border crisis and called for an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers to address the situation.

In a post on X, Von der Leyen said:

\n The good news is that the vast majority of those who arrived illegally have returned to Morocco, due to the effective work of Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement. Not a single person reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU.\n This shows why the control of our European borders matters. We have a strong system in place. But it needs to be further strengthened.”\n

Here are some charts and maps put together by our graphic artist Chris Watson illustrating the extent of the wildfires in France and Spain and the areas they have burned:

The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has defended her position on the Ceuta border crisis, saying it highlighted the urgent need for a coordinated European response to irregular migration.

Italy has temporarily suspended its free-travel Schengen arrangements with Spain by sea and air, claiming it was necessary to safeguard the security of its citizens. Random checks were being carried out today at airports and seaports on travellers arriving from Spain, according to the Spanish EFE news agency. At Rome’s Fiumicino airport, checks were being conducted on flights arriving from Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Malaga, EFE reported.

In a post on X, Meloni said:

\n The images coming out of Ceuta have demonstrated once again just how urgent a European response to illegal immigration is.\n For this reason, Italy, together with Denmark, has spearheaded a letter signed by 22 European Union member states, calling for joint action to strengthen external borders, tackle irregular migration, combat human traffickers, make returns more effective and eliminate any factors that might encourage further illegal entries.\n This is an important signal: the position that Italy has long advocated is now shared by an ever-increasing number of European nations.\n The defence of the Union’s external borders is not in the interest of a single nation. It is a shared responsibility of Europe.\n

Her statement came after the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, accused some EU countries, including Italy, of reacting to the crisis in a “selfish, polarising” manner. He said calls for Spain to be suspended from the EU’s Schengen zone were “driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest” (see post at 10:34).

The French interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said on Saturday that France would not seek Spain’s suspension from the EU’s Schengen rules, after tens of thousands of people entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in north Africa from Morocco, AFP reports.

“Spain does not need to leave the Schengen zone. It’s absolutely not on the table. We have great cooperation with Spain,” he told reporters.

On Friday, Italy said it was suspending its Schengen arrangements with Spain for a month. The framework allows for visa-free movement between borders.

Nuñez said France had stepped up controls at its southern border with Spain, but stressed: “We are not asking for Spain’s suspension from Schengen.”

Earlier on Saturday (see post from 10.34 BST), the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, hit back at some EU countries for what he described as their “selfish, polarising and illegal reaction” to the mass border crossings at Ceuta, as he thanked Morocco for its help in dealing with the crisis.

The death toll from Russia’s overnight drone and missile attack on Ukraine has now risen to 10 (see post from 09.37 BST)

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reiterated his call for more air defence support for Ukraine on the Telegram messaging app. \n “Every package of ballistic missile interceptors saves the lives of our people. And every night without them results in more casualties,” he wrote.

The Paks ​nuclear power plant in Hungary, which generates nearly half of the country’s electricity, could be shut down as soon as this weekend amid record-low levels on the Danube River, ⁠the country’s prime minister, Péter Magyar, said on Saturday, Reuters reports. \n The plant’s Russian-made reactors are operating at just a quarter of their combined 2GW capacity and were expected to be powered down completely for the first ⁠time in 44 years next week amid a further projected decline in water levels.

The UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, has said he has spoken to his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, and offered “what help we can” after more than 50,000 people crossed the border of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

PA Media reports that Burnham was asked for his response to the crisis as he attended a rally on Saturday after Labour’s victory in the byelection for the Greater Manchester mayoralty.

He told reporters: “I have been in touch with the Spanish prime minister and [we are] providing what help we can.”

In other news, Hamburg’s Pride parade, one of Germany’s biggest, has begun with increased security a week after a fatal extremist attack near Berlin’s Pride festival.

Organisers expect about 250,000 people to attend the event in Germany’s second-largest city, while police said roughly twice as many officers as last year would be deployed to protect the parade.

Here are some early pictures on the newswires from Hamburg:

Meanwhile, in another development on the war in Ukraine, Russia’s state-owned nuclear power operator, Rosatom, said Ukrainian drones had sunk a Russian-owned container ship in the Black Sea, forcing its 17-member crew to abandon the vessel.

It issued a statement on its Telegram channel of the incident, according to AFP, but it no longer appears on the app (although it has been reported by Russia’s Interfax news agency). AFP reported Rosatom as saying at least two Ukrainian drones struck the “Yanina” cargo vessel last night as it sailed near the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

The ship, operated by Rosatom’s shipping subsidiary FESCO, was carrying civilian goods including frozen food and construction materials, Rosatom said.

“The ship’s crew abandoned the ship in an organised and coordinated manner after it began to sink. All 17 crew members have been rescued,” Rosatom said in its statement on Telegram, according to AFP.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed the report, saying the container ship was subject to sanctions. “Thanks to the precision of our defence forces, it was sent to the bottom,” he said.

An emergency meeting of EU officials will take place at 2pm today to discuss any further responses to the migration crisis in Ceuta.

It comes after Spanish prime minister confirmed “virtually all” the irregular migrants had been returned “preventing any unauthorised onward movement towards continental Europe”.

However he has asked for the meeting following what appears to be a breakdown of EU unity on external border policy with Italy attacking Spain. \n Irish justice minister Jim O’Callaghan who is leading as part of Ireland’s EU presidency said he has convened the meeting of the EU integrated political crisis response [IPCR] mechanism and a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday.\n The meeting is designed to help member states make clear responses using expert opinion.\n It is also expected to respond to Spain prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s call for an extraordinary meeting of EU ministers of interior following what he sees as political weaponisation of the crisis.

In a strongly worded letter he reminded EU leaders, who have used the crisis to attack Spain, how the EU-wide migration policy has enabled the country “to reduce irregular arrivals through our territory dramatically, making Spain the second most secure external border in the EU, despite being the only Member State with a land border with Africa.”.\n In a sideswipe at Giorgia Meloni who said it was prepared to “take extraordinary measures” to control its border, Sánchez also noted how it came to the assistance, as called for by the EU migration policy, to Italy.\n “This successful policy has also allowed us to assist other Member States when they faced similar crises, like when we hosted several of the migrants that arrived to Eastern Europe through Belarus in 2021 and to Lampedusa in 2023,” he said.\n He said he has asked for the interior ministers’ meeting “as a matter of urgency” so that they can “establish a common response to situations of this kind” and reaffirm that “security of our external borders is a shared responsibility” and not just those with external borders.

Read more:

Wildfires continued to put pressure on emergency services across Europe, with Greece, France and Spain all battling major outbreaks.

But the wildfire in the Gironde region of south-west France has been “contained”, the French interior minister Laurent Nuñez said. The “megafire”, as it has become known in France, that ravaged 42,000 hectares (about 103,800 acres) of land “is no longer spreading”, Nuñez announced this morning, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

This followed what firefighters described as a “mild night”, with “slightly more favourable” weather conditions.

However, a wildfire in the south-eastern Var area reignited after being brought under control, spreading rapidly and forcing nearly 2,500 people to evacuate as firefighters worked to contain it, the French news channel BFM TV reported.

In Greece, strong winds fuelled fires in several areas, including the central region of Boeotia, about 80km (50 miles) north-west of Athens, where more than 200 people were evacuated by sea, Reuters reported. Emergency alerts were also issued for the Attica region around the capital and the nearby island of Evia.

Spain faced a mixed situation, with fires continuing in several regions including León and Zamora in the north-west and Castellón on the eastern coast. Some areas saw conditions improve and evacuation orders lifted, with the fire in Castellón’s Vall d’Uixó area stabilised after burning nearly 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of land, with authorities investigating suspected arson after finding two ignition points. Major fires in central Spain, including Madrid and Ávila, had also been brought under control.

The Spanish interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, is speaking now from Ceuta, I will bring you the latest lines.

He has echoed the Spanish prime minister’s criticism of some EU countries who have blasted Spain’s handling of the crisis (see post at 10:34), accusing them of “ignorance and bad faith”.

“We reversed the situation that arose on 30 July on our own, in collaboration with Morocco,” he said, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

“Morocco is not a threat to Ceuta, nor to Spain; it is a reliable partner.”

The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has hit back at some EU countries for what he described as their “selfish, polarising and illegal reaction” to the mass border crossings at Ceuta, as he thanked Morocco for its help in dealing with the crisis.

In a letter to Brussels, he said several European states have chosen to “attack” Spain and request its temporary exclusion from the Schengen area, driven by “prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interests” that is contrary to European law, humanitarian law and the principles of EU solidarity.

Sánchez argued that in less than 48 hours, his government managed to “fully restore control of the border, provide extensive humanitarian assistance, return virtually all migrants who crossed irregularly and prevent any unauthorised movement towards continental Europe”.

“All of this has been achieved in close coordination with the Moroccan authorities and with very little support from other European states,” he added.

He called for an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers “as a matter of urgency”.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported Ceuta is “gradually returning to normal” this morning, with shops reopening, traffic moving freely and fuel supplies restored after days of disruption. While small groups of young people remained in parts of the city, the large crowds seen earlier this week had largely dispersed.

There has been an update by the Spanish government on the Ceuta border crisis, with officials saying the death toll has risen to 67. The government also announced plans to install a containment barrier extending from the breakwater into the sea to deter further crossings after tens of thousands of migrants entered the Spanish enclave from Morocco this week, AP reported.

The Spanish foreign minister, José Albares, said that “practically the entirety of those who entered Ceuta have already returned to Morocco”. In a post on X, he added:

\n It is not possible to travel from Ceuta or Melilla to mainland Spain without presenting identification at a police checkpoint. The integrity of the Schengen area is fully guaranteed.\n

To understand more about the migration flashpoint, my colleague Angela Giuffrida put together this helpful explainer yesterday:

Hello, and welcome to our Europe live blog. Nine people have been killed in Ukraine after Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones at the capital Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian authorities have said.

Twenty-two people were also injured in the attack, which the Russian defence ministry described as a “massive strike” against “Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities and logistics centres in Kyiv”. Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said Russia was “intensifying its air attacks and terror against civilians”.

It came just two days after an onslaught of Russian missiles killed 10 people and injured more than 50 others across Ukraine, as Moscow looks to exploit Kyiv’s shortage of western-supplied air defence systems.

The scale of the problem was laid bare by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Kyiv managed to shoot down just one of the 27 ballistic missiles fired in the overnight attack because stocks of interceptor missiles for US Patriot systems had been depleted.

In a post on X, he said:

\n Overnight, the Russians launched 35 missiles at Ukraine, including 27 ballistic missiles, as well as 185 attack drones of various types. Kyiv was the primary target, but strikes also hit the Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions. Only one ballistic missile was intercepted, simply because there are no interceptors for the Patriot systems. And it is this shortage of ballistic missile interceptors that only encourages Russia to launch such attacks that take human lives.\n

He appealed to allies to urgently supply more Patriot interceptors, saying every additional missile saved lives and that shortages were leading to more civilian casualties.

Yesterday, he said he spoke to the US vice-president, JD Vance, and discussed a meeting with the president, Donald Trump, earlier this week in Washington, which Zelensky described as “positive and productive”.

Read more:

Elsewhere in Europe:

• \n More than 300 firefighters were battling a fast-moving wildfire near the coastal Greek resort of Porto Germeno, about 45 miles (70km) north-west of Athens, as strong winds continued to fuel the blaze and complicate firefighting efforts. Greek authorities said the fire had spread to the shoreline, with officials confirming to AFP that homes had been damaged. It is one of several wildfires burning across Europe, with France and Spain also battling major outbreaks as extreme heat, prolonged drought and the climate crisis create increasingly fire-prone conditions.
• \n France and Italy have bolstered border controls after about 60,000 people crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco. The crisis has turned increasingly deadly, with at least 57 people killed attempting the crossing, according to reports, prompting Spain to deploy troops to help regain control of the border. The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, blamed trafficking gangs for orchestrating the surge, accusing them of exploiting vulnerable migrants by encouraging the dangerous crossings.

Key events

• 2h agoVon der Leyen: 'Not a single person reached mainland Spain or rest of EU'
• 2h agoWildfires in France and Spain, in charts
• 2h agoMeloni says Ceuta images demand joint European action
• 3h agoSpain leaving Schengen ‘not on the table’, says French minister
• 3h agoDeath toll from Russian attack on Ukraine rises to 10
• 4h agoHungarian power plant may shut down this weekend owing to low river levels, says PM
• 4h agoUK’s Burnham offers Spain ‘what help we can’ to deal with Ceuta border crisis
• 4h agoHamburg Pride begins with increased security after Berlin attack
• 4h agoUkrainian drones sink Russian-owned container ship in Black Sea - Rosatom
• 5h agoEU emergency meeting on Ceuta border crisis to take place today
• 5h ago'Megafire' in Gironde region of France 'contained' as wildfires continue to burn in Greece and Spain
• 6h agoSpain interior minister accuse some EU countries of 'ignorance and bad faith'
• 6h agoSpanish PM criticises 'selfish' attitude of some EU countries over Ceuta crisis
• 7h agoDeath toll in Spain-Morocco border crisis in Ceuta climbs to 67
• 7h agoNine people killed in Russian attack on Ukraine as Zelenskyy warns of low air defence supplies

Lisa O’Carroll

As EU officials meet to discuss a joint response to irregular arrivals in Ceuta, it is worth remembering that the Spanish prime minister’s ire appears to be directed at Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who has reacted by closing the Schengen border with Spain despite repeated statements that virtually all the arrivals have returned.

On Friday evening, Pedro Sánchez underlined Spain’s efforts at stemming migration by publishing a league table, based on Frontex figures, of irregular arrivals in the EU.

In a post on X, he wrote:

double quotation markSolidarity and empathy are optional. Respect for European treaties and data is not. Number of irregular entries between 2021 and 2026 according to Frontex: Via Italy: 478,600 Via the Western Balkans: 340,600 Via Greece: 259,800 Via Spain: 234,760 Via the eastern border: 48,000 This is not the time to divide. It is the time to continue building a strong and united EU.

In the past, the EU has called events like Ceuta a “hybrid attack” with “instrumentalisation” of migration for political purposes, as has occurred on the border between Belarus and Poland and Russia and Finland.

Von der Leyen: 'Not a single person reached mainland Spain or rest of EU'

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she welcomed calls from leaders for a meeting to “take stock of what has happened” in Ceuta, but maintained that the EU had offered help to Spain “from the first moment”.

Her remarks were likely a response to criticism from the Spanish prime minister, who accused Europe of providing “little support” in dealing with the border crisis and called for an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers to address the situation.

In a post on X, Von der Leyen said:

double quotation markThe good news is that the vast majority of those who arrived illegally have returned to Morocco, due to the effective work of Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement. Not a single person reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU. This shows why the control of our European borders matters. We have a strong system in place. But it needs to be further strengthened.”

Wildfires in France and Spain, in charts

Here are some charts and maps put together by our graphic artist Chris Watson illustrating the extent of the wildfires in France and Spain and the areas they have burned:

Meloni says Ceuta images demand joint European action

The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has defended her position on the Ceuta border crisis, saying it highlighted the urgent need for a coordinated European response to irregular migration.

Italy has temporarily suspended its free-travel Schengen arrangements with Spain by sea and air, claiming it was necessary to safeguard the security of its citizens. Random checks were being carried out today at airports and seaports on travellers arriving from Spain, according to the Spanish EFE news agency. At Rome’s Fiumicino airport, checks were being conducted on flights arriving from Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Malaga, EFE reported.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni pictured at Chigi Palace, in Rome, Italy, on 7 May. Photograph: Remo Casilli/Reuters

In a post on X, Meloni said:

double quotation markThe images coming out of Ceuta have demonstrated once again just how urgent a European response to illegal immigration is. For this reason, Italy, together with Denmark, has spearheaded a letter signed by 22 European Union member states, calling for joint action to strengthen external borders, tackle irregular migration, combat human traffickers, make returns more effective and eliminate any factors that might encourage further illegal entries. This is an important signal: the position that Italy has long advocated is now shared by an ever-increasing number of European nations. The defence of the Union’s external borders is not in the interest of a single nation. It is a shared responsibility of Europe.

Her statement came after the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, accused some EU countries, including Italy, of reacting to the crisis in a “selfish, polarising” manner. He said calls for Spain to be suspended from the EU’s Schengen zone were “driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest” (see post at 10:34).

Spain leaving Schengen ‘not on the table’, says French minister

The French interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said on Saturday that France would not seek Spain’s suspension from the EU’s Schengen rules, after tens of thousands of people entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in north Africa from Morocco, AFP reports.

“Spain does not need to leave the Schengen zone. It’s absolutely not on the table. We have great cooperation with Spain,” he told reporters.

On Friday, Italy said it was suspending its Schengen arrangements with Spain for a month. The framework allows for visa-free movement between borders.

Nuñez said France had stepped up controls at its southern border with Spain, but stressed: “We are not asking for Spain’s suspension from Schengen.”

Earlier on Saturday (see post from 10.34 BST), the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, hit back at some EU countries for what he described as their “selfish, polarising and illegal reaction” to the mass border crossings at Ceuta, as he thanked Morocco for its help in dealing with the crisis.

Laurent Nuñez said France had ‘great cooperation’ with Spain. Photograph: Lou Benoist/AFP/Getty Images

Death toll from Russian attack on Ukraine rises to 10

The death toll from Russia’s overnight drone and missile attack on Ukraine has now risen to 10 (see post from 09.37 BST)

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reiterated his call for more air defence support for Ukraine on the Telegram messaging app.

“Every package of ballistic missile interceptors saves the lives of our people. And every night without them results in more casualties,” he wrote.

A block of flats in Kyiv, Ukraine, damaged in an overnight strike by Russia. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images

Deborah Cole

The Guardian’s Deborah Cole has written this photo essay about what has been uncovered by the low river levels caused by Europe’s record heat.

People swimming near a sunken German warship in Prahovo, Serbia. Photograph: Đorđe Kojadinović/Reuters

Hungarian power plant may shut down this weekend owing to low river levels, says PM

The Paks ​nuclear power plant in Hungary, which generates nearly half of the country’s electricity, could be shut down as soon as this weekend amid record-low levels on the Danube River, ⁠the country’s prime minister, Péter Magyar, said on Saturday, Reuters reports.

The plant’s Russian-made reactors are operating at just a quarter of their combined 2GW capacity and were expected to be powered down completely for the first ⁠time in 44 years next week amid a further projected decline in water levels.

The Paks nuclear power plant is sited on the banks of the Danube. Photograph: Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

UK’s Burnham offers Spain ‘what help we can’ to deal with Ceuta border crisis

The UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, has said he has spoken to his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, and offered “what help we can” after more than 50,000 people crossed the border of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

PA Media reports that Burnham was asked for his response to the crisis as he attended a rally on Saturday after Labour’s victory in the byelection for the Greater Manchester mayoralty.

He told reporters: “I have been in touch with the Spanish prime minister and [we are] providing what help we can.”

Hamburg Pride begins with increased security after Berlin attack

In other news, Hamburg’s Pride parade, one of Germany’s biggest, has begun with increased security a week after a fatal extremist attack near Berlin’s Pride festival.

Organisers expect about 250,000 people to attend the event in Germany’s second-largest city, while police said roughly twice as many officers as last year would be deployed to protect the parade.

Here are some early pictures on the newswires from Hamburg:

Photograph: Clemens Bilan/EPA

Photograph: Clemens Bilan/EPA

Photograph: Clemens Bilan/EPA

Photograph: Clemens Bilan/EPA

Ukrainian drones sink Russian-owned container ship in Black Sea - Rosatom

Meanwhile, in another development on the war in Ukraine, Russia’s state-owned nuclear power operator, Rosatom, said Ukrainian drones had sunk a Russian-owned container ship in the Black Sea, forcing its 17-member crew to abandon the vessel.

It issued a statement on its Telegram channel of the incident, according to AFP, but it no longer appears on the app (although it has been reported by Russia’s Interfax news agency). AFP reported Rosatom as saying at least two Ukrainian drones struck the “Yanina” cargo vessel last night as it sailed near the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

The ship, operated by Rosatom’s shipping subsidiary FESCO, was carrying civilian goods including frozen food and construction materials, Rosatom said.

“The ship’s crew abandoned the ship in an organised and coordinated manner after it began to sink. All 17 crew members have been rescued,” Rosatom said in its statement on Telegram, according to AFP.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed the report, saying the container ship was subject to sanctions. “Thanks to the precision of our defence forces, it was sent to the bottom,” he said.

EU emergency meeting on Ceuta border crisis to take place today

Lisa O’Carroll

An emergency meeting of EU officials will take place at 2pm today to discuss any further responses to the migration crisis in Ceuta.

It comes after Spanish prime minister confirmed “virtually all” the irregular migrants had been returned “preventing any unauthorised onward movement towards continental Europe”.

However he has asked for the meeting following what appears to be a breakdown of EU unity on external border policy with Italy attacking Spain.

Irish justice minister Jim O’Callaghan who is leading as part of Ireland’s EU presidency said he has convened the meeting of the EU integrated political crisis response [IPCR] mechanism and a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday.

The meeting is designed to help member states make clear responses using expert opinion.

It is also expected to respond to Spain prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s call for an extraordinary meeting of EU ministers of interior following what he sees as political weaponisation of the crisis.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez speaking at a press conference in Ceuta on Friday. Photograph: Reduan Dris/EPA

In a strongly worded letter he reminded EU leaders, who have used the crisis to attack Spain, how the EU-wide migration policy has enabled the country “to reduce irregular arrivals through our territory dramatically, making Spain the second most secure external border in the EU, despite being the only Member State with a land border with Africa.”.

In a sideswipe at Giorgia Meloni who said it was prepared to “take extraordinary measures” to control its border, Sánchez also noted how it came to the assistance, as called for by the EU migration policy, to Italy.

“This successful policy has also allowed us to assist other Member States when they faced similar crises, like when we hosted several of the migrants that arrived to Eastern Europe through Belarus in 2021 and to Lampedusa in 2023,” he said.

He said he has asked for the interior ministers’ meeting “as a matter of urgency” so that they can “establish a common response to situations of this kind” and reaffirm that “security of our external borders is a shared responsibility” and not just those with external borders.

Read more:

Sam Jones

This week’s mass crossing in Ceuta dwarfs the last similar event in May 2021, when Morocco loosened its border controls, allowing about 10,000 people to enter the territory over the course of two days.

That crossing came amid heightened tensions between Madrid and Rabat over Spain’s decision to allow the leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, the Polisario Front, to be treated for Covid-19 in Spain. Morocco and the Polisario Front both lay claim to Western Sahara, which was under Spanish rule until 1975, when colonial authorities handed over the territory to Morocco and Mauritania.

That diplomatic crisis ended in 2022 when Madrid reversed its longstanding policy of neutrality and backed Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara – a move that had caused a diplomatic rift between Spain and Algeria, which had supported the Polisario group.

Migrants who returned from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta gather at the Bab Sebta border crossing near Fnideq, Morocco. Photograph: Jalal Morchidi/EPA

Pedro Sánchez visited Algiers on 20 July – the first such visit by a Spanish head of government in four years – marking a thaw in relations with Algeria.

The Spanish government has attributed the latest influx to “human trafficking mafias” that have taken advantage of a decision by Spain’s supreme court, which recently ruled that those intercepted at sea while trying to enter Ceuta, or Spain’s other north African enclave of Melilla, could not be summarily returned under special rules.

But some migration experts have expressed doubts about that explanation. Mauricio Valiente, the director general of the Spanish Refugee Aid Commission, said the route into in Ceuta was very different from the Atlantic route from Africa to the Canary islands, which is often operated by people-smugglers.

“From what we’re seeing, these are people who buy a float and jump into the sea,” he told elDiario.es.

“It makes no sense. It’s important to keep in mind – and this also explains the concentration of these incidents – that unlike what happens in the Canary Islands, these aren’t people who have to get into a small boat. This is a matter of being just metres from a land border, jumping into the sea, and trying to get around a breakwater, which makes it much easier to do, even with all the risks.”

Valiente also said there had been a steady increase in arrivals to Ceuta this year, even before the supreme court ruling.

“The causes are complex, and there are surely many reasons,” he said. “But to simplify it by referencing the court ruling or organised crime – to say there’s a direct cause-and-effect relationship – is completely unfounded.”