EU leaders warn that mass border crossings and hybrid threats must not create the perception that illegal entry into the Union can lead to legal residency. . **Body:** <\/p>\n
“We cannot allow uncontrolled mass border crossings, the instrumentalisation of migration, or other hybrid threats to create the impression that illegal entry into the European Union is possible. That the illegal entry of a migrant can turn into a legal stay. Such a perception would encourage further attempts, undermine trust in our common migration policy, and have consequences for all member states,” EU leaders wrote in a letter shared with PAP.<\/p>\n
The letter is a reaction to events in Ceuta over recent days, where approximately 60,000 migrants entered illegally.<\/p>\n
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also sent a letter to EU leaders, calling for an urgent videoconference of interior ministers. Sanchez described the reactions of some member states as “selfish, polarizing, and illegal.” According to the Spanish Prime Minister, within less than 48 hours Spanish authorities restored full control over the border, provided humanitarian aid, returned almost all migrants who crossed illegally, and prevented their further movement into continental Europe.<\/p>\n
Sanchez noted that these actions were carried out in cooperation with Moroccan authorities and with “very limited support” from other EU states. He recalled that Spain showed solidarity with partners during previous migration crises, accepting migrants after the 2021 Belarus border crisis and the 2023 influx to the Italian island of Lampedusa.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister wrote that most member states expressed support for Spain and offered assistance, but some governments chose to attack Madrid and demand Spain’s temporary exclusion from the Schengen area. He did not name those states, but context indicated it was primarily Italy, which decided to close maritime and land borders with Spain. Madrid deemed this decision politically motivated and summoned the Italian ambassador for a clarifying meeting.<\/p>\n
Sanchez rejected critics’ arguments, emphasizing that Ceuta does not belong to the Schengen area, almost all migrants have already been returned, and Spain\u2014according to Frontex data\u2014is among the countries best protecting the EU’s external border.<\/p>\n
On Friday in a post on platform X, Sanchez noted that “solidarity and empathy are a matter of choice, but compliance with European treaties and data is not.” He cited Frontex statistics showing that between 2021 and 2026, approximately 235,000 illegal border crossings were recorded on the western route to Spain, compared to 479,000 on the central Mediterranean route to Italy. “This is not a time for division. This is a time to continue building a strong and united EU,” he wrote.<\/p>\n
The death toll from the migration crisis at the border between Ceuta and Morocco rose to 67, the Spanish government reported on Saturday. On Friday evening, the toll was 57. Victims included both people who drowned and those who died in a panic while attempting to cross the breakwater barrier.<\/p>\n
The Spanish government also announced it will install a 500-meter-long security barrier along the breakwater fence in the sea.<\/p>\n
The crisis in Ceuta erupted when around 60,000 illegal immigrants broke through from Morocco into the Spanish enclave, which has a population of 83,000. On Friday evening, the Spanish Interior Ministry reported that the vast majority of migrants had already returned to Morocco.<\/p>\n
The AP reported that on Saturday morning a small number of migrants swam to Tarajal beach in Ceuta, but they were immediately detained by Spanish soldiers and sent back to the border with Morocco. Associated Press added that relative calm prevails in Ceuta on Saturday after two days of chaos, though residents note that a return to normal life will take some time.<\/p>\n
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EU leaders warn that mass border crossings and hybrid threats must not create the perception that illegal entry into the Union can lead to legal residency. . **Body:** EU Warning on Mass Border Crossings “We cannot allow uncontrolled mass border crossings, the instrumentalisation of migration, or other hybrid threats to create the impression that illegal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-defense-and-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}