Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska speaks to the media during a press conference at the headquarters of the Spanish Ministry of Interior in Madrid, Tuesday. Reuters-Yonhap
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Spain's interior minister faced off with hawkish EU counterparts Tuesday in a tense video call to draw lessons from the mass influx of migrants into the North African enclave of Ceuta — which laid bare the bloc's fault lines on migration.
The unprecedented sight of tens of thousands of people streaming into Ceuta from Morocco — dozens died in the attempt and almost all have since departed — left the Spanish government pitted against many of its EU partners.
While Spain moved swiftly to send migrants back from Ceuta, the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has backed a more open approach to migration than many EU counterparts — including hardliners like Italy and Denmark.
A hastily arranged video conference of the bloc's interior ministers Tuesday offered a chance to seek common ground — but also risked a showdown.
