After intense exchanges of views with the leaders of 22 EU member states, Spain's Prime Minister Sánchez will hold an urgent video conference on Tuesday (August 4) to discuss the immigration crisis in Ceuta.
On August 2 local time, Perez Teriano, representative of the Spanish government in Ceuta, stated that large-scale illegal immigration incidents have resulted in the death of 72 people.
Xuda is a Spanish enclave in North Africa, bordering Morocco. Around July 30th, approximately 50,000 to 60,000 illegal immigrants flooded into Xuda from Morocco, becoming one of the most severe immigration crises along the EU border in recent years.
According to the Comprehensive Finance Times, Bloomberg, and Politicians News Network, the Spanish government has fully resumed border controls within less than 48 hours. It has provided extensive humanitarian assistance and deported almost all those who crossed the border illegally. At the same time, it has prevented anyone from entering Spain or other regions of the European Union without authorization. The Spanish Interior Ministry states that order has been largely restored, businesses have reopened, and measures such as inflated maritime barriers, military forces, police, and drones are being deployed to strengthen security.
Sanchez on August 1th issued a strong public letter, directly criticizing the reactions of some EU partners as 'selfish, confrontational, and illegal'.
In his letters to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the Prime Minister of Ireland, Martin, he wrote that the calls by some countries to "attack Spain" and to remove Spain from the Schengen Area "not only violate European law, humanitarian law, and the principles that unite us, but also go against the long-term interests of Europe and the most basic common sense."
Sanchez refuted the accusations that Spain failed to protect its external borders with the EU, and cited data showing that between 2021 and 2026, Spain recorded only half as many illegal immigrants as Italy.
He also emphasized that this is not the first time immigrants have been targeted with weapons against EU member states. The EU member states that support the proposed suspension are “led by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interests.”
He wrote: “In the current international situation, the EU cannot afford such selfish, confrontational, and illegal responses.” He also called for a special meeting of interior ministers as soon as possible, emphasizing that ensuring external border security is the common responsibility of all member states.
Meanwhile, leaders from 22 countries, including Italian Prime Minister Meloni and German Chancellor Merz, have jointly written a letter to the EU authorities. They expressed “serious concern” regarding the large-scale cross-border movements in Hegда, stating that such activities pose a threat to the EU borders. They also criticized Sanchez’s government for its relatively lax immigration policies—especially the large-scale legalization programs, which could serve as a “pull factor.”
The letter calls for enhanced control at external borders and coordinated actions, and indicates a readiness to restore temporary border checks in the Schengen area. Italy took action first, temporarily restricting the free movement arrangements with Spain; countries such as France have also strengthened border checks.
Except for Moritz and Meloen, the signatories also include leaders from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden.
According to Politicians News Network, Italy and Denmark were the first to draft this letter. Bloomberg also emphasized that Sánchez's closeness to China has also caused friction within the European Union.
Fermin tried to lower the temperature of the discussion. On August 1st, local time, she confirmed on social media platform X that the EU has supported Spain from the beginning, and said that the vast majority of illegal immigrants have returned to Morocco due to effective cooperation between Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement agencies. “No one has reached Spanish territory or other regions of the EU,” she said. She welcomed requests for a meeting to “summarize what happened,” and emphasized the need to strengthen external border management.
The core of this political standoff lies in the long-standing rift within the EU regarding immigration responsibilities. Sánchez represents the border countries, calling for collective pressure to be exerted; while the leaders of 22 nations target Spain’s policies themselves, arguing that they are not tough enough. The emergency meeting on Tuesday will be the first formal confrontation between the two sides. The outcome will directly affect the subsequent border coordination and the development of the Schengen mechanism within the EU.
It is noteworthy that US President Donald Trump also quickly intervened in this European crisis. At a cabinet meeting, he described the large-scale crossing of Huda as “looking like an invasion” and warned, “If our Republicans fail to win in the mid-term elections, the same thing will happen to us, and it will be worse.”
Trump also described this as a “disaster,” attributing it to “weak laws, poor management, and overly left-wing policies.” The US Department of State criticized the Spanish government’s “extremely left-wing, globalist policies, including tolerance for large-scale immigration,” stating that these were direct causes of the crisis.
