Europe reflects on deadly migrant influx to Ceuta

The chaotic incursion of tens of thousands of people into the tiny Spanish-controlled North African enclave of Ceuta on July 30 and July 31 was largely over a few hours after it began — but fallout from the incident continues to dominate discussion at the European Union.

The arrival of as many as 72,000 uninvited people from neighboring Morocco prompted a hastily called EU meeting on Tuesday, and continues to draw heated words from both Spain and Morocco, who each accuse the other of having manipulated the situation.

And, despite the fact that the vast majority of people who arrived in Ceuta left again within hours, the continued presence of a few thousand migrants in the days that followed have left Spain with a logistical challenge, in terms of ensuring they have adequate food, water, and shelter.

European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said after Tuesday's high-level EU meeting that the unprecedented crossing looks to have been fueled by criminal smuggling networks and online disinformation.

Spain, meanwhile, is investigating whether jihadists may have used the chaos to try to access European territory.

In the immediate aftermath of the mass crossings, the EU has offered emergency assistance to Spain, to help it reinforce the enclave's border.

The arrival of so many people sent shock waves when it happened, and immediately triggered Italy to suspend participation in the EU's visa-free Schengen initiative, over fears the unwanted arrivals would get unfettered access to the entire EU.

Opponents of the Schengen initiative have since pointed out that migrants targeting a new life in the EU need only access the bloc at its weakest point to have the option of moving anywhere, once inside.

Since the Ceuta incident, some of the bloc's 27 member countries have pushed for the EU's external borders to be strengthened without delay, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for "united action" on the issue, and the bloc's interior ministers meeting to look for ways forward.

In a letter to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, von der Leyen said: "From this incident, it is clear that we must do more to further strengthen our borders at critical points."

She added that "the protection of all our external borders is a shared European responsibility" and that nations would need to employ "vigilant monitoring and the use of physical barriers where needed".

The Ceuta incident is thought to have culminated in people cutting through the fence, climbing over it, and swimming around it in a mass movement that grew larger as the day went on — and as others saw online what was happening.

Most people crossing the border had hoped to claim asylum and be transported to Spain, from where they expected to have access to the rest of the EU. Many even believed an invitation from Spain's prime minister had been issued.

But Ceuta is not a full participant in the Schengen initiative and people require visas to travel from there to the European mainland.

Most of those who entered Ceuta were back in Morocco a few hours later, after having found little food or water, and the opposite of a warm welcome waiting for them.

And the mass migration was more than just a harmless misunderstanding. Migrant rights organization Caminando Fronteras said hospitals in northern Morocco had received 63 bodies recovered from Moroccan waters by Tuesday. The Moroccan government has not officially confirmed this. Spanish officials told radio network Cadena SER that authorities had found another 78 bodies in Spanish waters. The overall toll has therefore reached 141.

Von der Leyen, meanwhile, has said the bloc must step up its fight against irregular migration throughout its territory, which contributed 154,502 people to the bloc's population last year. She said the number of arrivals can be kept as low as possible by the EU working with source countries, by it strengthening its external borders, by it implementing early warning systems, and by breaking up people-smuggling networks and sending migrants who do not qualify for asylum back to their home nations.

The frantic scenes on July 30 and July 31 are now thought to have begun with Instagram posts a few days earlier that suggested Spain's border was vulnerable and that the country was welcoming. After that, Facebook users began publicizing the whereabouts of coast guard patrols, and TikTok users posted videos about where someone might be able to swim around the border defenses.

The online activity multiplied and young people were soon arriving at the border in cars, taxis, buses, and on trains and sharing their attempts to cross.

Morocco said the mass migration was far from spontaneous but the result of the "exploitation of the digital sphere" and "the spread of misinformation", suggesting the EU may also need to target action in these areas if it is to avoid seeing something similar happen again.

earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com