Spain faces intense EU backlash over Ceuta migrant crisis as ministers gather for emergency talks

Spanish Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska is preparing to face criticism from all sides today during an emergency EU meeting convened over the Ceuta crisis.

According to a report by Euractiv, he will address the online gathering first, after which the floor will yield to other member states that issued harsh rebukes to his government last week over its handling of the illegal entry of 60,000 individuals into Spanish territory.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez issued a sharp response to the backlash, declaring that the reactions of other EU governments were shaped by “political self-interest, ignorance, and prejudice.”

Twenty-two of these governments united against him over the weekend in an open letter, holding the Spanish prime minister accountable for his pro-migration policies.

Leading the criticism, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took steps toward introducing temporary internal border controls targeting travelers arriving from Spain.

According to multiple diplomats, ambassadors made a joint effort during a preparatory meeting yesterday (August 3) to defuse tensions and shift the focus toward future resolution.

Madrid accuses member states of a “lack of solidarity”

However, several officials noted that they still expect a political confrontation during the ministerial meeting.

Two diplomats said the Spanish ambassador delivered a lengthy presentation, accusing other member states of failing to show solidarity with Madrid.

One diplomat characterized the statement as a “30-minute tirade.”

Two other diplomats indicated that the direction of today’s meeting will depend largely on the stance taken by Grande-Marlaska, a longtime ally of Sánchez.

Speaking to the press on Monday, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares stated that Madrid would demand greater solidarity from its European partners during the meeting, directing specific criticism at Italy.

In an interview, the minister argued that Rome had “acted inappropriately” by calling for the suspension of Spain’s membership in the Schengen free-movement zone.

Albares maintained that Ceuta and Melilla have never threatened the integrity of the free-travel area, pointing instead to migratory pressures in other regions of Europe.

Von der Leyen attempts to defuse tensions

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen walked a careful line in a letter to Sánchez, attempting to ease friction while praising his efforts to resolve the crisis.

She also mollified the vast majority of European governments by asserting that the paramount lesson to draw from the crisis is that Europe must toughen its stance on migration.

EU Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner shared the following assessment in comments provided to Euractiv’s newsletter, Rapporteur:

“What matters now is that the EU acts in a unified manner and draws the correct conclusions from these events. For now, Europe has passed this test; people were unable to enter the Schengen area.”

However, Sánchez’s initiative to regularize the status of approximately 500,000 migrants in Spain is meeting severe pushback in the European Parliament.

The European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group in the European Parliament to which von der Leyen belongs, is intent on extracting a political cost from the government over the policy.

Dolors Montserrat, secretary general of the EPP and a Spanish center-right member of the European Parliament, said: “Rather than demanding respect, cooperation, and a reciprocal response from the Moroccan government, the Sánchez government has been more concerned with manufacturing conspiracy theories and igniting diplomatic disputes with its European partners.”

Sánchez faces mounting domestic pressure

At home, the right-wing Vox party is demanding that Albares and the head of the CNI appear before the Senate to provide a full accounting of the migration crisis in Ceuta.

The party submitted a comprehensive package of legislative initiatives aimed at forcing the government to produce all documents and intelligence in its possession prior to the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta.

Concurrently, Vox requested that Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Director of the National Intelligence Center (CNI) Esperanza Casteleiro Llamazares appear before the Senate to explain the management process carried out during the crisis.

Vox Senator Ángel Pelayo Gordillo is specifically demanding copies of all correspondence exchanged between relevant ministries under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the CNI, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), and Moroccan authorities.

He is also seeking the release of all prior communications, including warnings, forecasts, or intelligence assessments, that may have been transmitted to anticipate and prevent the events.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal visited Ceuta on Sunday, accusing the government of being subservient to Morocco.

Speaking to reporters, Abascal assigned full responsibility for the events to the government in Rabat and, above all, to Pedro Sánchez himself.

Abascal argued that Morocco acted under the assumption that it would face no reaction or retaliation, because the Spanish prime minister had, in his words, “subjugated himself to this African nation.”

Beyond Vox, right-wing groups Núcleo Nacional and SALF have also seized on the migration crisis to sharpen their rhetoric against the government.