European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that no migrant who arrived illegally in Ceuta reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU, while welcoming calls for a meeting to assess the border crisis.
EU response to Ceuta crisis
Speaking after the surge of crossings into the Spanish enclave, von der Leyen said she welcomed leaders' requests to “take stock of what has happened” in Ceuta. She maintained that the EU had offered assistance to Spain “from the first moment”.
The remarks appeared to respond to criticism from Spain's prime minister, who accused Europe of providing “little support” in handling the crisis and urged an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers to tackle the situation.
Von der Leyen's statement on X
In a post on X, von der Leyen said: “The good news is that the vast majority of those who arrived illegally have returned to Morocco, due to the effective work of Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement. Not a single person reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU. This shows why the control of our European borders matters. We have a strong system in place. But it needs to be further strengthened.”
