The European Commission is expected to further harden its migration policy in the wake of the Ceuta crisis, with major changes set to be adopted in the coming months and potentially announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech this week.
The events of 30 July represented the largest influx of irregular migrants in recent years, with around 80,000 people entering the Spanish exclave in a single day, adding pressure to an already clear political initiative to tighten migration rules in EU-wide legislation.
Despite a steady decline in both irregular crossings and asylum applications in the EU since 2023, three new options are now on the table to strengthen the bloc’s external borders and increase the return of irregular migrants, according to several EU officials, diplomats and MEPs who spoke to Euronews.
“The images we have seen this summer are too disturbing for Europeans,” one EU official said. "Something major on migration has to be announced for sure."
The options are not mutually exclusive, and von der Leyen could ultimately decide to pursue more than one.
