The European Union has praised Spain’s “swift response” to the migrant crisis in Ceuta, following a meeting of the bloc’s interior ministers on Tuesday.
Around 72,000 migrants crossed into the Spanish territory in North Africa between 30 and 31 July, Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said. He added that an estimated 70,000 have since been returned to Morocco.
At least 75 people died on the Spanish side of the border, while 11 deaths were reported in Morocco.
Tuesday’s meeting was called after several EU members expressed concern over Spain’s handling of the crisis, with Italy describing images from Ceuta as “shocking” and suspending its Schengen agreement with Spain.
Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting, said the EU stood in solidarity with Spain and that migration required “a united European response”.
The meeting had been expected to draw some tension, following earlier criticism of Spain from some EU nations.
On Thursday, Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said such “uncontrolled immigration” was a security threat to Europe.
Italy suspended its Schengen zone agreement with Spain on free movement on Friday, but since the two countries do not share a land border, this would only apply, effectively, to flights – which appears simply to mean extra checks for passengers.
The Schengen agreement eliminates border checks and now encompasses more than 450 million people and 29 countries in Europe.
Finland and Denmark backed Italy’s move, while Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš urged a temporary suspension of Spain’s Schengen membership.
Italy, along with Denmark and 20 other nations, later sent a letter expressing their concern over the Ceuta migrant crisis.
In response, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had “serious concerns” about some European governments and pointed out that Ceuta was not part of the Schengen area.
While most had shown “support and solidarity”, he said other European governments had chosen to attack Spain, “driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest”.
Speaking after the meeting on Tuesday, Grande-Marlaska said the Schengen zone had not been compromised and that he hoped Italy would lift any added controls “as soon as possible”.
Denmark’s immigration minister Morten Bødskov said he was “very satisfied” with Spain’s quick response, but added that the incident showed “it is absolutely crucial that we have control over the EU’s borders”.
Speaking afterwards, EU commissioner Magnus Brunner said the incident had been a “test” of European resilience and border security – which he said it had successfully “passed”.
Brunner added that the EU had offered Spain emergency financial support to strengthen its borders and manage the crisis.
It is unknown exactly what led the tens of thousands of migrants to cross from Morocco into Ceuta in a span of just a few hours last week.
Brunner said it is thought that the influx was fuelled by criminal networks and social media disinformation.
Ayoub, a 23-year-old administrative assistant from Casablanca in Morocco, said he decided to swim across to Ceuta after seeing the situation unfold on social media.
Speaking to BBC World Service Newshour programme, he described it as “the most traumatic experience I’ve ever had in my life”.
Ayoub said he wanted to reach Europe for a better quality of life.
“I haven’t risked my life for nothing, I want to be free, I want to pursue my studies and I want a chance in life,” he said.
The crossings came after Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish exclave, cannot be summarily returned to Morocco.
Moroccan authorities later said that it had warned Spain the ruling would cause “a problem”, but Spain rejected this claim, with a government spokeswoman saying it had no evidence or intelligence “that alerted us to the magnitude of this unprecedented event”.
Spain’s interior minister said he was working “firmly” with Morocco to avoid further “violations” of Spain’s borders and added that any migrants still in Ceuta would be returned to Morocco as soon as possible.
Images from inside Ceuta on Tuesday showed crowds of migrants gathering near the beach to receive food, water and other aid. Some held makeshift banners with the word ‘asylum’ written on them.
Several people were also pictured sleeping on the beach and on streets across the city.
Concerns have been raised over the treatment of the remaining migrants, in particular of unaccompanied minors, with local media reporting some 800 children being held in facilities across the city.
Ahmed Haroun, a 29-year-old Sudanese migrant, said it had been his “dream” for years to reach Ceuta.
He told the Reuters news agency that he has family waiting for him, adding: “I want to help them.”
He said the situation had improved over the last few days and that he was now receiving aid and support, but he still does not know whether he will be allowed to stay in Spanish territory.
Djibril, from Senegal, criticised the Spanish government’s response, saying those who arrived in Ceuta were not there “to cause trouble”.
“We’re not thieves,” he told Spanish broadcaster RTVE.
“But leaving us without a response is inhumane. For five days you’ve left people on your territory. They’re not eating, they’re not showering, they’re ill.”
Kamal, a 24-year-old from Sudan, said he had been “forced” to be in Morocco and was “trying to find somewhere where I can be protected”.
“Now it’s very difficult and it’s getting more difficult,” he told Reuters news agency. “No food, nowhere to sleep, not even blankets to warm up from the cold. We live in front of the beach.”
Spain’s interior minister said the rights of all migrants, especially those underage, were being respected during the crisis, with Spain’s government allocating around 25m euros (£21.4m; $28.8m) to assist minors in Ceuta.
