EU Sends Aid to Spain
EU interior ministers agree to strengthen external borders after mass migrant crossing into Ceuta, with Croatian Minister Božinović stressing the need to apply the concept of safe third countries.
EU interior ministers agree to strengthen external borders after mass migrant crossing into Ceuta, with Croatian Minister Božinović stressing the need to apply the concept of safe third countries.
The European Union will bolster the protection of its external borders and provide urgent assistance to Spain, as concluded during an emergency videoconference of interior ministers held on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. The meeting was convened by Ireland, which currently holds the EU Council presidency, in response to the migrant crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, where a mass border crossing was recorded last week.
Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović stated after the meeting that the European response would be more coordinated, with stronger involvement of agencies such as Frontex. He emphasized that Spain, with the support of 22 member states including Croatia, had raised the issue at the European level, sending a message that security challenges at one member state's borders are a challenge for the entire Union.
Despite dramatic scenes in which more than 60,000 people surged toward border crossings on Thursday and Friday, officials dismissed claims that the Schengen Area had been compromised. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska was clear: "It is clear that the Schengen Area was in no way compromised in this crisis."
His French counterpart, Laurent Nunez, added that all agreed that the Schengen Area was not actually the issue. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, assessed that the past days had been a test of European resilience and the security of external borders, adding: "Europe, I think, has definitely passed this test."
The crisis once again exposed political divisions within the Union. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was among the harshest critics of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, announcing the introduction of temporary border controls with Spain. Finland called for Spain's suspension from Schengen. Sánchez dismissed the criticism, stating that Italy's stance was contrary to European and humanitarian law, while noting that Italy had received around 478,000 migrants since 2021, compared to 234,000 arriving in Spain.
According to Frontex data, the number of irregular border crossings into the EU in the first half of 2026 fell by 37 percent compared to the same period last year, to around 49,000, significantly lower than the record 1.8 million in 2015.
Minister Božinović took the opportunity to reiterate Croatia's position on the necessity of applying the concept of safe third countries, expressing satisfaction that the European Commission had for the first time opened this discussion. "People coming from countries thousands of kilometers away to Croatia pass through a series of safe countries. If the international protection system is consistently applied, asylum should be sought in the first safe country," said Božinović.
He also highlighted that Croatian police have arrested 698 migrant smugglers this year, which testifies to the scale of organized crime and the effectiveness of border surveillance. "Croatia speaks about migration from ten years of experience protecting the EU's external border. We entered the Schengen area and significantly improved police equipment with European funds," he added.
According to information from Spanish authorities and the European Commission, the vast majority of people who illegally crossed the border have been returned to Morocco, with no further movement toward mainland Spain or other member states recorded. Since the weekend, around 60,000 people have returned to Morocco, with 2,500 remaining in Ceuta.
Ministers agreed on the need for a decisive fight against smuggling networks, strengthening migrant returns, and building deeper partnerships with third countries. Božinović announced that a detailed analysis of the circumstances leading to the crisis would be prepared in the coming weeks, with results serving as a basis for a new ministerial meeting in early October 2026. The impact of disinformation on social media, suspected of encouraging the arrival of a large number of migrants, will also be analyzed.
The crisis also had tragic consequences. According to reports relayed by Minister Božinović, more than 70 people died, while Al Jazeera, citing Spanish and Moroccan authorities, reports over 80 migrant deaths, including those who drowned or were crushed while crossing the breakwater.
Božinović warned that human smuggling is not only a migration issue but also a serious security problem that directly endangers lives. In the context of security, he also mentioned the explosion in Bosiljevo where three people were injured, recalling the national campaign "Less Weapons, Less Tragedies" through which citizens voluntarily surrendered more than 370,000 pieces of weapons, 6.7 million rounds of ammunition, and 6.5 million explosive devices.
