Croatia Joins Call for EU Response on Protection of External Borders

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is one of the signatories of a letter from 22 leaders of European Union member states, calling on EU institutions for a coordinated agreement on the protection of the Union’s external borders.

This was announced today by the Government of Croatia, prompted by the fact that 60,000 migrants from Morocco, seeking to reach EU territory, have since Thursday massively entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in northern Morocco.

The letter was addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and Micheál Martin, the Prime Minister of Ireland, which holds the EU Council presidency in the second half of this year.

The letter, which expresses serious concern over the events in Ceuta and determination to prevent smugglers from undermining the integrity of the Union’s external borders, was signed, among others, by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Agency Hina reports that this migrant and humanitarian crisis erupted when, according to Ceuta authorities’ estimates, about 60,000 migrants entered the Spanish autonomous city, mostly by swimming around the breakwater. According to today’s data from Spanish authorities, 67 migrants have died, and those who managed to reach Ceuta were without food and water.

„We must not allow uncontrolled mass border crossings, the instrumentalization of migration, or other hybrid threats to create the impression that illegal entry into the European Union is possible, or that illegal entry by migrants can be turned into legal residence. Such a perception would encourage further attempts, undermine trust in our common migration policy, and have consequences for all member states,“ the letter states.

The Supreme Court of Spain ruled in July that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or another Spanish enclave in Morocco—Melilla—cannot be immediately returned to Morocco under the expedited procedure that applies to those who arrive by land.

The signatories of the letter assessed that this ruling was „the reason for this attack (on Ceuta) and the abuse of the European migration and asylum system.“

„At the same time, it is our duty to effectively deter illegal migration and to uncompromisingly fight against it by coordinating activities, strengthening external borders, and addressing all policies that may act as pull factors, such as the legalization of the status of a very large number of illegal migrants,“ the letter points out.

During yesterday, more than 48,000 people were returned to Morocco after Madrid and Rabat reached an agreement on the urgent repatriation of migrants, which the Union’s state leaders welcomed in the letter.

They called on the EU presidency, Ireland, to urgently convene an extraordinary video conference of the interior ministers of EU member states to define a coordinated European response, including „the rapid mobilization of available EU instruments and the provision of necessary support to Spain,“ the Croatian Government stated in a press release.

The Croatian Government emphasizes the importance of protecting the EU’s external borders to avoid introducing internal border controls among member states, which some countries are currently demanding for Spain due to the incursion into Ceuta.