Spanish Foreign Minister Demands EU Solidarity in Ceuta Migration Crisis

Moscow (ANTARA) - Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares will demand solidarity from European Union member states regarding the migration crisis in Ceuta.

“Of course, we will demand solidarity from all EU member states. There is no European Union without solidarity, and those who do not accept this are effectively working against Europe,” Foreign Minister Albares said in an interview with the RTVE television channel on Monday.

Albares reminded that the two border cities of Ceuta and Melilla are not only Spain’s borders, but also the European Union’s southern border.

“When there was a repeated migration crisis that the Italian Government could not handle in Lampedusa, Spain always showed solidarity, both politically and practically; and this is precisely what we want from other European countries,” said Albares.

At the end of July, Ceuta, an autonomous city and Spanish enclave located on the North African coast, experienced a massive influx of migrants from its neighbour, Morocco.

Spain deployed additional police personnel, the Civil Guard, and military forces to the region in an effort to prevent illegal crossings.

Ceuta Mayor Juan Jesus Vivas announced on Friday (31/7) that around 60,000 people had entered Ceuta within a 24-hour period.

The city’s population currently stands at approximately 85,000.

Several EU representatives had previously criticised Spain’s migration policy. On Friday (31/7), authorities from several EU countries, including Italy, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Denmark, called for the temporary suspension of Spain’s Schengen membership amid the wave of migrants arriving from Morocco into Ceuta.