Spain requests emergency funding from the EU over Ceuta migrants

European Commission says it is ‘assessing’ Spain’s request after some 70,000 migrants surged into North African enclave.

Spain has formally requested emergency funding from the European Union to address the migration situation in its North African enclave of Ceuta, weeks after tens of thousands of people surged across the border from Morocco.

The European Commission said on Tuesday that it is closely monitoring the situation and remained “fully engaged at all levels” to ensure the security of the EU’s external borders.

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Commission spokesman Markus Lammert said during a daily news briefing in Brussels, “We have now, namely yesterday, received a formal request for emergency funding, and we are now working on assessing their request as a priority and with a view to taking a swift decision.”

This comes after more than 70,000 would-be migrants, driven by poverty and misinformation, rushed towards Ceuta at the end of July, in one of the deadliest migration crises to hit the region.

At least 90 people died on both sides of the border, according to official numbers, while human rights groups reported higher figures.

The Spanish government also took steps to speed up the return of the migrants who still remain in the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

Most of them have since returned to Morocco, but between five percent and 10 percent – between 3,500 and 7,000 people – remain in Ceuta, including unaccompanied children who cannot be deported.

Spanish authorities must identify those remaining in Ceuta to establish whether they are entitled to international protection or, if not, begin procedures for their return.

The process has been criticised as too slow by Ceuta’s regional government, which is controlled by the conservative Popular Party (PP).

To speed up the response, Spain’s cabinet on Tuesday approved the creation of a “single command” for Ceuta, to be led by Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres.

The priority is “the return and repatriation of the greatest possible number of people, adults and minors”, while respecting Spanish law and human rights, Torres told reporters after the cabinet approved the measure.

While return procedures are accelerated, the government will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those who seek asylum or are unaccompanied minors and therefore cannot be returned, he added.

Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two North African enclaves, hold the EU’s only land borders with Africa.

Both enclaves operate under a special arrangement within the Schengen free-travel zone, which requires anyone crossing in to face border checks before continuing onward to mainland Spain.