Bedingfield calls for tougher EU migration policy after Ceuta crisis

During an urgent online meeting with EU interior ministers, Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield expressed Malta’s full solidarity with Spain while calling for a migration policy that is tough on irregular migration and addresses its root causes.

EU officials convened the meeting after around 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta in less than 24 hours.

At least 83 people died during the crossings, including 72 on the Spanish side of the border and 11 on the Moroccan side. Some drowned, while others were crushed as they attempted to cross the breakwater marking the border.

Bedingfield said the events in Ceuta demonstrated how quickly migration pressures could emerge and intensify.

He argued that the EU already had the legal framework and operational tools required to respond effectively. Efforts should therefore focus on making faster and more effective use of existing instruments rather than creating new mechanisms, he said.

Bedingfield also stressed the importance of advancing recently announced measures, including return hubs, while improving the effectiveness of the EU’s return system.

The minister called for a balanced migration policy that is tough on irregular migration while also addressing its root causes. This, he said, required stronger protection of the EU’s external borders, intensified action against migrant smugglers and criminal networks, more effective return procedures, and deeper cooperation with countries of origin and transit.

At the same time, Bedingfield called for a united EU response based on solidarity, practical cooperation and a fair sharing of responsibility among member states.

“Now is the time to stand united as a union,” Bedingfield said. “We must support member states under pressure, safeguard the integrity of the EU’s external borders, and demonstrate that we can respond effectively to migratory challenges while addressing their root causes.”

Bedingfield commended Spain’s rapid implementation of voluntary returns for the vast majority of those who crossed into Ceuta, as well as the immediate measures taken to strengthen border security.

On Tuesday, Spanish Home Affairs Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska confirmed that 70,000 of the 72,000 irregular migrants had been returned to Morocco over the previous few days.

He also insisted that the crisis had not compromised Europe’s visa-free travel zone, after several member states called for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen free-movement area.

Bedingfield concluded by stressing that the immediate priority was to ensure that Spain retained full control of its external border, with support from EU agencies wherever necessary.