European Commission president says work needed in five areas of migration control including returning more people
The president of the European Commission has called for action to strengthen Europe’s borders after tens of thousands of people arrived and quickly left the Spanish territory of Ceuta, triggering a furious row between Madrid and other European countries.
In a letter to Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, on Monday, Ursula von der Leyen said: “From this incident, it is clear that we must do more to further strengthen our borders at critical points, including vigilant monitoring and the use of physical barriers where needed.”
She praised the Spanish socialist leader’s swift handling of the crisis, after the vast majority of migrants left Ceuta and Spain officials began installing a 500-metre (1,640ft) floating barrier at the border with Morocco. “Order has been restored and the returns system in place worked,” she wrote in the letter.
Spain estimates that about 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco over the past four days, exceeding initial estimates 50,000 having arrived in the enclave on North African territory on Thursday. Authorities in Ceuta reported that 88 people died trying to reach the territory, while at least 11 deaths have been recorded in Morocco.
