Socialist Spanish PM blasts Meloni over restored border controls after Ceuta surge, demands emergency meeting

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez broadly blasted his chap European leaders for their effect to the surge of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco to the Spanish border, seemingly criticizing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for deciding to resume European borderline controls successful the aftermath of the incident.

Sánchez appeared to instrumentality contented with Italy's determination to temporarily suspend Schengen Area free-travel arrangements with Spain. The Schengen Area is an statement betwixt 29 European countries which abolishes passport controls and allows radical to question crossed European borders without providing documents.

"In the existent planetary context, the European Union cannot spend this benignant of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction," Sánchez said successful a missive obtained by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) quality wire.

Sánchez, who leads the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, touted his country's speedy turnaround successful expelling astir each of the 50,000-60,000 migrants who crossed the borderline backmost to Morocco.

"Despite these indisputable facts," Sánchez wrote, "the absorption of European governments implicit the past fewer hours has been alternatively asymmetric. Most person showed america their enactment and solidarity, and person offered their assistance. Others, however, person chosen to onslaught Spain and to telephone for its impermanent exclusion from the Schengen Area."

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"Such an cognition — driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, oregon governmental involvement — is not lone contrary to European law, humanitarian law, and the principles of solidarity that hindrance america together," helium reportedly wrote. "It is besides contrary to Europe’s semipermanent interests and to the astir basal communal sense, due to the fact that Ceuta is not portion of the Schengen Area, due to the fact that determination are astir nary irregular migrants near unreturned, and due to the fact that Spain is, according to Frontex, 1 of the slightest porous outer borders of the European Union, with a fig of irregular entries that is fractional that recorded, for example, successful Italy successful caller years (2021–2026)."

Sánchez additionally requested a ceremonial gathering of the interior ministers of each 27 European Union countries successful the letter, which was addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

Ireland is presently serving its one-year word arsenic the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives to be a property league pursuing an bonzer furniture gathering astir the vigor crisis, astatine the Moncloa Palace successful Madrid connected March 20, 2026. Pedro Sanchez has announced a 'drastic cut' successful vigor taxes (Pierre-Philippe Marcou / AFP via Getty Images)

Sánchez's petition followed a wide stampede of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, which shares a onshore borderline with Morocco successful North Africa. Approximately 50,000-60,000 radical illegally unreserved implicit the borderline into European territory, according to Spanish section and nationalist authorities.

Tens of Thousands of Migrants Enter Spanish Territory

The shocking footage of the flood of radical prompted a worldwide response, including from President Donald Trump.

Meloni, a conservative, announced the signing of a missive by 22 EU countries calling for stronger borders.

"The images arriving from Ceuta person erstwhile again demonstrated however urgent it is for Europe to respond to amerciable immigration," Meloni wrote successful a Saturday station connected X.

"This is wherefore Italy has promoted, unneurotic with Denmark, a missive signed by 22 EU subordinate states, which calls for associated enactment to fortify outer borders, combat irregular immigration, combat quality traffickers, marque returns much effective, and destruct immoderate origin that could incentivize caller amerciable entries. It is an important signal: the enactment that Italy has agelong supported is contiguous shared by an ever-growing fig of European nation. Defending the outer borders of the Union is not the involvement of a azygous Nation. It is simply a shared work of Europe," Meloni concluded.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a associated connection astatine the decision of Italian-German authorities consultations successful Rome connected Jan. 23, 2026. Meloni connected Saturday announced a associated missive singed by 23 European nations demanding stronger European borderline protections. (Remo Casilli/Reuters)

Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, arsenic portion of Ireland's EU presidency, volition convene a gathering of the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council to respond to the crisis, Martin announced successful a Saturday station connected X.

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Ceuta's President Juan Jesús Vivas said astatine slightest 60,000 radical — oregon astir 70% of the territory's colonisation — crossed implicit from Morocco. Spain's interior ministry released its ain figures soon aft Vivas spoke Friday, estimating that immoderate 50,000 radical had crossed from Morocco since Thursday. It added that 48,300 had already returned to Morocco by Friday evening, with hundreds much going backmost by the hour.

Von der Leyen claimed nary of the migrants who crossed into Ceuta made it to the European mainland and that virtually each of them had returned to Morocco.

A representation shows Ceuta, a Spanish autonomous metropolis connected the North African seashore bordering Morocco. (Fox News)

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"The bully quality is that the immense bulk of those who arrived illegally person returned to Morocco, owed to the effectual enactment of Spanish and Moroccan instrumentality enforcement. Not a azygous idiosyncratic reached mainland Spain oregon the remainder of the EU," she wrote successful a Saturday greeting station connected X.

At slightest 67 radical were killed successful the borderline rush. As a result, Spain announced it was installing a 500-meter-long obstruction successful the oversea to combat aboriginal migration pushes.

Migrants transverse connected ft into the North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco by attempting to swim, according to Spain's Guardia Civil, adjacent the borderline with Ceuta, successful Fnideq, Morocco, July 30, 2026, successful this inactive representation obtained by Reuters (Reuters)

Fox News Digital contacted the offices of the Spanish, Italian and Irish premier ministers and the bureau of the European commissioner.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.