European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica spoke to N1 about the migrant crisis in the Spanish enclave, stressing the importance of implementing the Pact on Asylum and Migration.
European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, said on Monday that the mass arrival of migrants in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week was a "warning" for the entire European Union. She noted that the situation has calmed down and that most people have been returned to Morocco, but also emphasized the need for joint solutions and solidarity among member states.
"The situation has calmed down and most illegal migrants from Morocco have already returned home. We are cooperating very well with Morocco; I have spoken several times in the past three days with the Spanish and Moroccan foreign ministers, there is very good cooperation between them, and we are helping and coordinating, and it has worked quite well," Šuica said on the show Novi dan on N1 television.
Her statement comes ahead of a key meeting of European Union interior ministers on Tuesday, at which Spain, according to its foreign minister José Manuel Albares, will "demand solidarity from all EU member states." Albares told Spanish public television TVE that Ceuta and Melilla are "two Spanish cities, but also two European cities and the external border of the European Union."
Šuica dismissed the possibility of the crisis turning into mutual recrimination. "We want the Pact on Asylum and Migration to be implemented, and this has been a test case. We will see what the cause is, but we certainly do not want this to turn into a so-called blame game. We want to help Spain fight this phenomenon," she said, adding that Croatia, like most EU countries, wants to calm the situation.
The European Commissioner explained that her role in resolving this crisis is primarily coordination, since migration falls under the competence of member states. However, she warned of serious consequences if the common policy fails to be implemented. "This was more like a warning to Spain and to all of us. There is a concern that the Pact on Asylum and Migration is not being applied in the true sense of that document, but not that we will see a repeat of a situation where 50,000 refugees suddenly arrive somewhere," she said.
While diplomatic activities continue, the scale of the crisis and the number of casualties are still being reconciled. Morocco's Interior Ministry, which spoke out for the first time late on Sunday, said that around 40,000 migrants arrived in Ceuta last week and that 11 people died on Moroccan territory. On the other hand, Spanish authorities estimate that between 50,000 and 60,000 people crossed the border and report 72 migrant deaths on Spanish territory. The authorities of Ceuta itself have said they recovered 88 bodies from the sea.
The Moroccan government attributes the mass arrival to an organized disinformation campaign. In a statement carried by Spanish news agency EFE and broadcaster RTVE, it said the events were not the result of "spontaneous circumstances or random factors," but rather a combination of "malicious exploitation of the digital space and the actions of human smuggling networks."
Minister Albares also pointed to the role of social media, saying there was "very unusual activity on social media that distorted the Supreme Court's ruling." He added that there was "synchronization of the international reactionary scene that came out to amplify what was happening and spread lies." The Moroccan ministry clarified that it was precisely this disinformation that "reinforced the belief among some people wishing to migrate that they could avoid immediate return."
Šuica stressed that the key to the solution lies in money and narrative. "As much as 70 percent of this problem is financial, and the rest is the problem of the narrative of how to deter people from illegally coming to the Union's borders," she said. She reminded that the European Union has already paid Morocco half a billion euros to fight illegal migration and highlighted the success of a similar model with Tunisia, after which the number of illegal migrants to Italy fell by 60 percent.
"Europe is not a fortress; those who can and want to come legally can come. This incident should not be repeated, and I hope this will raise awareness," Šuica said, highlighting Croatia as a good example of responsible guarding of the Schengen border, where 6,000 police officers do the job.
