Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has accused fellow European Union leaders of being “selfish” for expressing concerns and enacting border restrictions in the wake of tens of thousands of illegal migrants flooding into Ceuta this week.
The North African city of Ceuta, which stands as a territorial exclave of Spain bordering Morocco, was overrun this week by a flood of aliens seeking to reach European Union territory. Estimates put the number of illegal entries at upwards of 60,000, overwhelming the border protections and nearly equalling the entire population of the city within just days.
The dramatic scenes of tens of thousands of African migrants breaching the gates of EU territory recalled memories of the Europe Migrant Crisis of 2015 and immediately sparked a wave of condemnations of the Socialist government in Madrid from fellow EU leaders, who demanded that Spain protect their common border. Some went even further, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni enacting emergency border controls with Spain, suspending the free movement under the Schengen agreement.
On Saturday, a group of 22 European leaders issued a letter calling for an emergency meeting on the issue of Ceuta. The leaders warned of the potential “repercussions of uncontrolled crossings of the border” at the Spanish exclave, which the letter argued, “may encourage other attempts of this kind.”
“We cannot allow massive and uncontrolled crossings, the instrumentalisation of migration, or other hybrid threats that create the perception that it is possible to enter the European Union illegally and that an illegal entry can later become a legal stay,” the letter stated.
In a letter of his own, addressed to EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, Prime Minister Sánchez claims that within two days, his government has “fully restored control of the border” and has returned “almost all” illegal immigrants who crossed in recent days, while accusing his critics of being “selfish”.
The Spanish PM said per El Mundo that the decision to impose border restrictions was motivated by “prejudices, fake news, ignorance, or political interests,” and goes against “European Law, humanitarian Law, and the principles of solidarity” among member states.
Hellbound and Down 