Morocco
\nSpain has condemned the \u201cselfish, polarising and unlawful\u201d reaction of some EU countries to the influx of about 60,000 migrants from Morocco to Ceuta.
\nOfficials say almost all those who reached the enclave on 30 July have returned, while Spain\u2019s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to at least 67.
\nIt comes after Italy temporarily suspended the EU\u2019s border-free Schengen arrangement with Spain, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the scenes \u201cshocking\u201d.
\nFinland and Denmark backed Italy\u2019s move, while Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babi\u0161 urged a temporary suspension of Spain\u2019s Schengen membership.
\nIn a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez said he had \u201cserious concerns\u201d about some European governments.
\nHe said the Spanish government had fully restored control over the border and prevented any \u201cunauthorised onward movement towards continental Europe\u201d in less than 48 hours.
\nWhile most had shown \u201csupport and solidarity\u201d, Sanchez said other European governments had chosen to attack Spain, \u201cdriven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest\u201d, and pointed out that Ceuta was not part of the Schengen area.
\n\u201cThe European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction,\u201d he said.
\nThe Spanish leader called for an urgent meeting with EU interior ministers to \u201creaffirm that the security of our external borders is a shared responsibility of all Member States\u201d.
\nMeanwhile, 22 of the EU\u2019s 27 countries also called for emergency talks in an open letter, citing \u201cserious concerns\u201d regarding the developments in Ceuta.
\nThe nations \u201cwelcome that Spain and Morocco are cooperating closely to ensure the swift return of migrants\u201d, but said a video conference of EU interior ministers would help reach agreement on mobilising EU instruments and support for Spain to restore \u201ceffective control\u201d of the border and prevent further uncontrolled crossings.
\nAlso on Saturday, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he had spoken to S\u00e1nchez and the UK was \u201cproviding what help we can\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Morocco Spain has condemned the \u201cselfish, polarising and unlawful\u201d reaction of some EU countries to the influx of about 60,000 migrants from Morocco to Ceuta. Officials say almost all those who reached the enclave on 30 July have returned, while Spain\u2019s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-559666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n