Europe
Members of the Spanish Army's 'Regulares' infantry forces watch a group of migrants near the border post of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on August 2, 2026. At least 72 people died during last week's mass influx of migrants into Spain's Ceuta enclave, when tens of thousands of people mostly swam around the border post from Morocco, local officials said today. Most of the estimated 60,000 people who rushed into Spain's north African territory have returned to Morocco since the territory's largest mass migrant crossing. (AFP/Henry Nicholls)
EU countries will seek on Tuesday to draw early lessons from the Ceuta crisis after the migrant rush on Spain's North African enclave sent tensions spiking between Madrid and the bloc's more hawkish member states.The unprecedented sight of an estimated 60,000 people streaming into Ceuta from Morocco – almost all of whom have since left – exposed the fault lines on migration among the EU's 27 nations.
Since images first emerged of the mass arrivals, most of whom swam around a barrier separating the enclave from Morocco, Madrid has found itself pitted against many of its fellow capitals.
Tuesday's 10 a.m. videoconference of the bloc's interior ministers will provide a chance for countries to look for common ground – or on the contrary to dig in harder.
