Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain line up for food distribution on a beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
European Union interior ministers will hold urgent talks on Aug. 4 over the mass arrival of migrants in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, which has deepened divisions within the bloc over migration policy.
The informal videoconference, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Brussels time, will review developments in Ceuta and discuss a possible coordinated response.
Around 60,000 people are estimated to have crossed into the enclave from Morocco last week, many by swimming around a border barrier. Most have since returned to Morocco.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accused some European governments of adopting a “selfish” response to the crisis and called for common EU action.
Italy and Denmark, meanwhile, led a letter signed by 22 EU leaders calling for stronger external borders, greater support from the EU border agency Frontex and closer cooperation with Morocco. The letter also urged action against smuggling networks and policies that could encourage irregular migration.
Italy has temporarily reintroduced checks on arrivals from Spain, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called on the EU to consider all options, including suspending Spain from Schengen cooperation. EU rules, however, do not provide for the formal suspension of a member state from the border-free area.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the meeting should help the bloc draw lessons from the crisis. She called for stronger external borders, early-warning systems, closer cooperation with non-EU countries, action against smugglers and more effective returns.
