Sanchez's letter rage against EU leaders: "Selfish"

 

Nora Fernstedt 

Published 17:51Updated 18:54

Several EU leaders blame the Spanish government for the migrant crisis in Ceuta.

Now Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is furious.

"Selfish, polarizing and illegal reactions," he writes in a letter according to El País.

In the letter, Pedro Sánchez does not mention any EU countries by name.

But he directs sharp criticism at states that he believes have reacted "disproportionately" after the migrant crisis in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in recent days.

He accuses several European leaders of acting based on "prejudice, fake news, ignorance or political self-interest".

At the same time, he is calling for an emergency meeting between the interior ministers of the EU countries.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Photo: Thomas Padilla/AP

“Chosen to attack”

According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, more than 48,000 of the 50,000 people who entered Ceuta from Morocco have already returned.

Sánchez’s letter has been sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

“Most have shown us support and solidarity and offered their help. Others, however, have chosen to attack Spain and demand that it be temporarily excluded from the Schengen area,” Sánchez writes.

He describes his deep concern about the reaction of some European leaders – which he says is incompatible with EU law and the principles of solidarity on which the EU is founded.

Sánchez also points out that Spain regained full control of the border in less than 48 hours, that almost all migrants have returned and that the country has managed to prevent them from travelling on to Europe without permission.

All of this was done “with very limited support from other European states,” according to Sánchez.

Italy has suspended Schengen cooperation

Sánchez’s reaction comes after Italy suspended its Schengen cooperation with Spain. Finland and Denmark have also strongly criticized Spain’s migration policy.

On Saturday, 15 European leaders, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, signed a letter in which they also called for an emergency meeting.

In the letter, they say that the decision in Spain’s Supreme Court has been used “to trigger this attack and abuse our migration system.”

On Saturday evening, Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin wrote on X that a video meeting of the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council is scheduled for Tuesday. That will be when justice or home affairs ministers from the member states will meet.