European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for action to strengthen Europe’s borders, including the use of physical barriers where needed. This follows an incident where tens of thousands of people arrived in and subsequently left the Spanish territory of Ceuta.
In a letter to Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday, Ms von der Leyen stated: “From this incident, it is clear that we must do more to further strengthen our borders at critical points, including vigilant monitoring and the use of physical barriers where needed.” She also praised Mr Sánchez's handling of the situation, noting that order had been restored and the returns system worked.
Spain estimates that approximately 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco in the past four days. Authorities in Ceuta reported 88 deaths among those attempting to reach the territory, with at least 11 deaths recorded in Morocco.
EU interior ministers are set to hold emergency talks on Tuesday to draw lessons from the crossings. Ms von der Leyen suggested the EU should focus on five areas: strengthening cooperation with non-EU countries to prevent migration, stronger external borders, implementing early warning systems, dismantling smuggling networks, and boosting returns of people without the right to stay.