Brussels tries to cool tensions but meeting risks capping off a fractious few days
Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, is steeling himself for criticism from all sides at an emergency EU meeting about the Ceuta crisis on Tuesday morning.
He will be the first to take the floor at the online meeting, before handing over to many of the countries that lashed out at his government for its handling of the illegal influx of 60,000 people into the Spanish territory last week.
Grande-Marlaska’s boss, Pedro Sánchez, retorted that “political interest, ignorance and prejudice” characterised the reactions from other EU governments – 22 of which ganged up on him in a public letter over the weekend, blaming the Spanish premier for his pro-migration policies. Giorgia Meloni, the ringleader of the criticism, moved to impose temporary internal border checks on travellers from Spain.
Ambassadors made a concerted effort to soothe tensions and shift the focus to the future at a preparatory meeting on Monday, according to multiple diplomats. But some cautioned that they also expected political confrontation at the ministers’ meeting.
