Portugal backs EU emergency meeting on Ceuta

Portugal’s government supports an emergency meeting of European Union interior ministers on Tuesday to discuss the migration crisis in Ceuta, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said, backing a coordinated EU response to pressure at one of the bloc’s external borders.

In a message posted on his official social media account and repeated on government accounts, Montenegro said Portugal supports “a council of EU interior ministers to address the serious migration crisis in Ceuta”. He also said the Portuguese government’s “rigorous policy of regulation and humanism” in reception, returns and cooperation with countries of origin is “the right path” for managing immigration.

The videoconference meeting was scheduled after requests from 22 EU member states and from the Spanish government to discuss the situation in the Spanish enclave. According to the material provided, Ceuta has seen a mass arrival of migrants from Morocco since Thursday, with local authorities estimating about 60,000 entries, above the roughly 50,000 counted by Madrid.

Spain’s interior ministry said at least 53,000 migrants had meanwhile returned voluntarily to Morocco by Saturday. The material also says at least 67 people have died since Thursday while trying to reach Ceuta by swimming. Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, is one of the EU’s two land borders with Africa, alongside Melilla.

Originally published at Eco.pt