Spanish King Calls for Protection of Ceuta and Prevention of Recurrence of Bloody Migration Crisis

Madrid, Aug 1 (KUNA) -- King Felipe VI of Spain expressed deep concern and dismay on Thursday over the migration crisis that unfolded in Ceuta, calling for all necessary measures to ensure the city’s security and prevent a recurrence of the tragic events that claimed dozens of lives. The royal palace said in a statement that the king had held talks in recent days with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and the presidents of the autonomous governments of Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish cities under the Spanish crown. The statement emphasized that the Spanish monarch stressed the need to unify efforts to demonstrate the state’s support for the residents of the two cities, affirming that “the state must guarantee their security and prevent a recurrence of these events, which have resulted in the sad and tragic loss of dozens of lives.” Interior ministers of European Union member states are scheduled to hold an urgent and extraordinary meeting via videoconference next Tuesday to discuss the migration crisis in Ceuta, ways to handle future crises, and to coordinate a joint European response to protect the EU’s external borders, in response to a request by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and leaders of 22 other countries. Earlier on Thursday, Sánchez criticized in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen the positions and reactions of some European governments, which he said had handled the crisis with “prejudice, misleading information, ignorance, and political interests,” in contradiction with European law, international humanitarian law, and the principles of European solidarity. Ceuta and Melilla are two Spanish autonomous cities on the northern coast of Morocco and constitute the EU’s only land border with the African continent, making them among the most prominent crossing points for migrants seeking to reach Europe. (End) H.N.D./R.J.