Spain’s Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, says the recent surge of irregular migrants into the country’s North African territory of Ceuta did not threaten Europe’s Schengen free-travel zone.
Marlaska said Spain has already returned about 70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who entered Ceuta from Morocco following the unprecedented rush that began on July 30.
The crisis, which left 72 people dead as some migrants drowned while attempting to cross the Mediterranean barrier, triggered concerns among European Union members, with some countries calling for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen area.
However, Marlaska said there was no risk of migrants moving from Ceuta to mainland Europe, insisting that “the Schengen area was never in the least danger”.
He added that emergency talks with EU counterparts were held in a constructive atmosphere, despite earlier tensions over Spain’s immigration approach.
Spain’s government has continued to pursue a more open migration policy, including a regularisation programme expected to grant legal status to about 500,000 undocumented migrants living in the country.
