After the tragic events in Ceuta, where nearly 100 people lost their lives, 22 member states are demanding stricter border measures. Security rhetoric has become dominant even among center-left parties, and the EU is asking TikTok and Meta to urgently remove disinformation about border crossings.
The security-first approach to migration, prioritizing stricter border control, has become the prevailing pattern in the European Union, pushing the more liberal Spanish model to the margins. The wave that hit Ceuta in late July, when tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco flooded into the Spanish enclave, not only accelerated this shift but also exposed Madrid's growing isolation within the bloc.
According to available data, on July 30, more than 70,000 people attempted to enter Ceuta, and nearly 100 people lost their lives in these events. The incident led to a serious diplomatic rift between Spain and Italy. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government responded by reinstating temporary controls for air and sea passengers arriving from Spain. Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland took a similar stance, demanding the urgent establishment of surveillance at the EU's external borders and hinting at the possibility of reintroducing checks within the Schengen area.
At the initiative of Italy and Denmark, 22 member states signed an open letter calling for a review of all policies that could act as pull factors for migrants. Particular focus was placed on mass regularizations of residence status, which directly undermines Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's plan to regularize the status of approximately half a million people. Only Ireland, Portugal, France, and Luxembourg did not support the letter.
Interestingly, Sánchez himself adopted a noticeably harsher tone after the escalation in Ceuta. "The Spanish government will use all state levers and resources to guarantee the safety of the citizens of Ceuta," he stated, characterizing the mass border crossing as a violation of the country's territorial integrity.
The shift towards security terminology is not exclusively a trait of right-wing options. Danish Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen works closely with Meloni precisely on migration policy, and similar vocabulary is increasingly adopted by other center-left politicians. Chiara Catelli, from an organization working on the rights of undocumented migrants, warns that this trend is pervasive.
"When migration is treated solely as a security issue with increasingly repressive measures, the result is social exclusion and marginalization," Catelli told Euronews, adding that such an approach simultaneously criminalizes solidarity with migrants.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar, a Member of the European Parliament from the Spanish Social Democrats, confirms the dominance of right-wing thought. "At the European level, the right-wing, nationalist, reactionary stance on migration is prevailing," he told Euronews. His Italian colleague, Cecilia Strada, adds that Sánchez's government is a constant target of right-wing parties precisely because it represents the last bastion of progressive migration policy in the EU.
The new direction is already embedded in European legislation. The package of measures adopted in June introduces stricter border surveillance, restrictions on migrant movement, and opens the possibility of establishing "return centers" in third countries. This model is strongly promoted by Italy, which plans to open centers in Albania for processing asylum claims and returning migrants outside the Union's territory. The Netherlands and Denmark also support this idea, while Sánchez and French President Emmanuel Macron oppose it.
At the last EU summit, 19 heads of state signed a declaration calling for the full implementation of the new migration rules. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, following the crisis in Ceuta, told Sánchez that the Union must further strengthen its borders, including the installation of physical barriers where necessary. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner attempted to ease tensions between Rome and Madrid, confirming on platform X that internal controls are temporary in nature, but also emphasized that "such a violation of the integrity of the external borders and the security of the Union cannot be accepted."
The European Commission announced on Tuesday that TikTok and Meta will enhance cooperation with fact-checkers to prevent a new migration crisis. EU Digital Policy Commissioner Henna Virkkunen previously criticized these platforms for spreading inaccurate information during the mass border crossings. Social media, it seems, played a crucial role in the Ceuta incident, as many migrants stated that they concluded from videos and messages that this otherwise strictly guarded border had suddenly become open.
A Commission spokesperson explained that local fact-checkers will "be able to flag any harmful disinformation related to, for example, potential new mass border crossings." After talks with Spanish Digital Transformation Minister Óscar López Águeda on Monday, Virkkunen confirmed that the Commission, Europol, and the platforms are in daily contact and enhanced coordination.
