After Ceuta: EU interior ministers show unity
In a video conference to discuss the migrant crisis in Ceuta, the EU interior ministers have made a show of support for Spain. "The EU is united and stands ready to support Spain", concluded Ireland's Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O'Callaghan, who chaired the meeting. Following last week's surge of more than 70,000 migrants into the Spanish exclave in North Africa, 22 EU member states led by Italy and Denmark had initially harshly criticised Madrid over the incident.
Meloni's own goal
The conference was ultimately a setback for Giorgia Meloni, La Repubblica notes:
“Full, unanimous solidarity with Spain and congratulations to Madrid on how it handled the migrant crisis in Ceuta. Meloni's challenge to Sánchez has backfired spectaclarly, with Italy forced to sign the declaration of solidarity with the Spanish government during the video summit of EU interior ministers. And to add insult to injury, the European Commission will now investigate the 'proportionality' of Rome's unilateral decision to suspend the Schengen Agreement with Spain. And the Italian proposal to set up joint return hubs in third countries – modelled on Meloni's failed initiative in Albania – was not accepted.”
Dual vulnerability exposed
The Financial Times takes stock:
“The Ceuta crisis has once again exposed Europe's dual vulnerability: to external pressure, with neighbouring states using migrant flows as a means of coercion, and to internal political division as nationalist anti-immigration parties gain in strength. ... The Ceuta crisis shows how far the EU – the Brussels institutions and the national capitals – have shifted to the right on immigration in recent years. With far-right forces threatening incumbents in several member states holding elections in the next 12 months, the temptation to find scapegoats will grow.”
Talk about slow on the uptake!
Liberal comments, tongue in cheek:
“Yesterday's EU interior ministers video conference on the mass arrival of around 70,000 people in Ceuta was more a verbal expression of solidarity than a conference at which fundamental measures could be decided. ... More than a decade after the first huge influx of migrants into European territory under [Greece's then] Tsipras government, they called for improved early-warning systems and exchange of information. The funny thing is that they also took the decision to monitor social media with the goal of identifying potential mass migration movements in time to prevent them (yes, that certainly took a great deal of wisdom). It makes you wonder why they even have intelligence services.”
Create opportunities, not fences
Moroccan society needs better prospects, economist Jamal Bouoiyour argues in Le Monde:
“Morocco needs not just a new development plan, but a new social contract based on the quality of its institutions, competition, performance, equal opportunities and social mobility. ... You can put up fences, increase the number of drones and tighten controls, but a sustainable migration policy can never be based on a generation that lacks prospects. Ceuta is neither a submersion nor a mere failure of the border. ... It is a symptom of the failure of a development model. Unless this model is fundamentally overhauled, more Ceutas will emerge – in Morocco and elsewhere.”
Two ideologies, neither convincing
Ceuta has highlighted just how contrary ideas about the issue of migration are, notes Tprotal:
“Ceuta is more of a mirror than a gateway. In this mirror, Spain sees an economy that needs immigrants; Morocco sees a territory that symbolises incomplete decolonisation; the EU sees fears of a repeat of 2015; and Sánchez sees the last major issue in which he can still play the role of leader of the European Left. ... At the Pillars of Hercules, it is not only Africa and Europe that collide, but also two European ideologies: those who believe that the future can simply be demarcated by walls; and others who believe in a flexible and open approach. Ceuta has shown both sides have yet to come up with a wholly convincing answer.”