EU chief criticises Spain’s migrant plan after Ceuta crisis meeting
Migration commissioner says scheme regularising undocumented people ‘not a good signal’ for Europe
TL;DR
- EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner criticized Spain's plan to regularize undocumented migrants as a "not a good signal" for Europe.
- The criticism follows an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers to address divisions after the Ceuta crisis, where tens of thousands of migrants arrived.
- Spain's plan is to regularize 500,000 undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, with nearly 1.2 million applications received.
- Several EU member states, organized by Italy and Denmark, signed a letter implicitly criticizing Spain's plan as a "pull factor" for illegal migration.
- EU ministers agreed that the Schengen zone was not the problem and broadly endorsed a plan to strengthen Europe's external borders, including an early-warning system and cooperation with non-EU countries.
- The EU's border agency Frontex reported a decrease in irregular border crossings in 2025 compared to the previous year.
- The Greek prime minister suggested countries should be able to suspend asylum applications in exceptional situations, but Brunner stated the EU's migration pact already offers solutions.