Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez fends off blistering criticism within the EU over Ceuta crisis

BRUSSELS (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s migration policies have come under withering criticism as leaders from across the European Union meet Tuesday following last week’s rush of migrants to the Spanish territory of Ceuta in North Africa.

The sudden arrival of 50,000 to 60,000 migrants on Thursday and Friday sparked a humanitarian crisis in Ceuta and reignited the immigration debate in the 27-nation bloc, though most of the migrants soon went back. More than 80 migrants died, including some who drowned or were trampled in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities.

Open letters from 22 EU leaders, and a quick retort from Sanchez, have exposed a roiling debate inside the EU pitting migration hawks against the progressive Spanish leader who has challenged consensus within the bloc on migration as well as NATO spending, Gaza and Israel.

Sanchez's government has fended off the attacks as politically motivated, saying most of the migrants were pushed back from Ceuta within hours in “close coordination with the Moroccan authorities and with very little support from other European states.”

Regardless of Tuesday meeting's outcome, Europe is displaying a deeply damaging disunity as it faces security threats from Moscow, instability with Washington and economic tension with Beijing, said Alicia García-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific and Middle East for the financial firm Natixis.

“Europe has shown weakness again,” she said. “Massive weakness.”

EU leaders quickly pounced on Sanchez once videos from Ceuta went viral. Many blamed the incident on his government's progressive policies and publicly rallied for new border checks at sea, air and land ports of entry.

They blamed a recent Spanish court ruling for triggering “this attack on our migration and asylum system,” according to an open letter signed from the leaders of 22 EU countries, from Finland to Malta.

Spain's Supreme Court had ruled that migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported without due process, unlike those who cross by land or climb Ceuta's border fence because they had not crossed a physical barrier.

Sanchez said that the ruling had been intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers to convince thousands of people to cross by swimming around the border fence.

The Socialist leader replied in his own letter by recalling that Spain had, in solidarity with the EU, taken in migrants who arrived to eastern European nations from Belarus in 2021 and to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa in 2023.

Many right-wing politicians have won elections across the EU by promising to crackdown on migration — and they claim to have done so with the European Migration and Asylum Pact.

Newer, stricter regulations for asylum seekers and migrants largely replaced the previous migration system, which was widely considered a failure. EU capitals now boast greater abilities to surveil, detain and deport migrants to so-called “safe countries” like Morocco or “return hubs” outside the bloc.

These new provisions have been met with skepticism from human rights groups, including fears that deportation centers hosted abroad could morph into long-term holding facilities overflowing with asylum seekers stuck in legal limbo.

“On Ceuta, political games are being played over the lives of people on both sides of the border," said Michele LeVoy, director of the Brussels-based Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. She criticized “Europe's inaction" in tackling the root causes of migration that she said led to the Ceuta crisis.

“We need regular pathways for people to move in safety and dignity," LeVoy said.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni issued the most blunt criticism of Sanchez, as well as announcing that Italy would enforce air and sea border controls with Spain.

Yet Cueta's remote geographical position meant “there was almost zero risk that people (would) really arrive in Spain and then move on to Italy,” said analyst Matteo Villa at the Italian Institute for Political Studies in Milan. He said that just 2% of migrants arriving in Europe make it to Italy.

Italy has also pointed to Ceuta to push forward a controversial plan, forged in Italy's partnership with Albania, to move migrant screenings outside of the EU.

Sanchez fired back by calling the Italian leader's position on Ceuta "contrary to European law, humanitarian law, and the principles of solidarity that bind us together.”

In a post on X, Sánchez also claimed that Italy has allowed in twice the number of migrants as Spain since 2021, with Spain receiving 234,000 to Italy’s 478,000.

Data from the EU’s border agency Frontex shows migration to the EU peaked in 2015 with 1.8 million people, the majority of whom crossed via the Balkans or the eastern Mediterranean. Since then numbers have dramatically fallen: In the first half of 2026, crossings fell by 37% to around 49,000 people.

“Fewer boats are setting out towards Europe, and that is the result of sustained cooperation with our partners in the region,” said Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had at first expressed shock over Ceuta while calling for a doubling down on the bloc's hard line on migration. But she sent a letter Monday to Sanchez praising his handling of the crisis.

“We need a lessons-learned process to improve our European resilience, preparedness and response,” said Arianna Podesta, a spokesperson for the commission, reflecting the contents of the letter.

“What happened in Ceuta has made it clear that we must do more to further strengthen external borders, for example with vigilant monitoring and where needed the use of physical barriers.”

Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain, and Barry from Rome. Associated Press writer Renata Brio in Barcelona contributed to this report.

Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco sit outside the temporary immigrant stay center (CETI) in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Migrants who crossed into Spain are escorted by Spanish soldiers towards the Spanish-Moroccan border for their return to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Migrants who crossed into Spain are escorted by Spanish soldiers towards the Spanish-Moroccan border for their return to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)

Migrants who crossed into Spain from Morocco gather on a beach in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)

LILLE, France & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 4, 2026--

4Moving Biotech (4MB), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing first-in-class therapies for inflammatory knee osteoarthritis, today announced the completion of patient enrollment in INFLAM MOTION, its international Phase 2a proof-of-concept study. The trial is evaluating the efficacy and safety of 4P004, an investigational intra-articular GLP-1 receptor agonist designed to address the inflammatory mechanisms underlying both symptoms and disease progression in knee osteoarthritis.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260803530661/en/

INFLAM MOTION is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2a clinical trial conducted across Europe, the United States and Canada. A total of 129 patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis associated with contrast enhanced-MRI-confirmed synovitis were randomized to receive a single intra-articular injection of either 4P004 (2 mg) or placebo, followed by a three-month evaluation period. The study population was selected based on the presence of synovitis rather than obesity status. This phenotype-driven strategy is intended to focus development on patients with a biological feature associated with a higher risk of osteoarthritis progression.

Completion of enrollment marks a major operational and strategic milestone for the program, transitioning the study into patient follow-up and preparation for clinical data readout.

Unlike conventional osteoarthritis studies that primarily assess symptomatic improvement, INFLAM MOTION was designed to go beyond the evaluation of pain relief by integrating contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) to assess changes in synovial tissue thickening and inflammation. The study will investigate whether modulation of synovitis is associated with clinical benefit and with an objective biological response in a disease pathway linked to structural progression and future knee replacement. It is expected to generate one of the most comprehensive datasets to date exploring the relationship between symptoms, imaging biomarkers, and inflammatory biology following local GLP-1 receptor activation.

“Completion of enrollment represents an important milestone not only for the development of 4P004 but also for the broader understanding of inflammatory knee osteoarthritis,” said Professor Francis Berenbaum, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of 4Moving Biotech. “Increasing evidence indicates that synovial inflammation is a major driver of pain and identifies a phenotype associated with structural progression and a greater likelihood of future knee replacement. By acting directly within the joint, 4P004 has been designed not simply to provide symptomatic relief, but to selectively modulate this progression-associated inflammatory pathway, while minimizing systemic exposure. For the first time, INFLAM MOTION will allow us to evaluate whether local GLP-1 receptor activation can translate into a coherent clinical and biological response, combining symptomatic improvement with objective imaging evidence of reduced synovial tissue thickening and inflammation.”

The primary endpoint of the study is the reduction in knee pain at Week 4. Key secondary endpoints include changes in synovial tissue thickness and overall synovitis burden assessed by contrast-enhanced MRI, knee pain at Week 12, imaging biomarkers, and circulating biomarkers associated with osteoarthritis progression.

Beyond evaluating clinical efficacy, INFLAM MOTION is expected to provide important translational insights into the relationship between synovial inflammation, imaging biomarkers and patient outcomes. By studying a synovitis-defined population, the trial is intended to determine whether targeting this inflammatory phenotype may provide a basis for an approach extending beyond symptom control. These data are intended to inform patient selection, endpoint strategy and biomarker integration for the subsequent Phase 2b study, supporting the development of a differentiated regulatory package built upon both clinical benefit and objective evidence of biological activity relevant to potential disease modification.

“Completing enrollment marks the transition from operational execution to clinical value creation,” said Luc Boblet, Chief Executive Officer of 4Moving Biotech. “Over the coming months, INFLAM MOTION is expected to generate a robust clinical dataset assembled around local GLP-1 therapy in osteoarthritis, integrating patient-reported outcomes, advanced imaging and molecular biomarkers. The value of this study lies in determining whether local GLP-1 therapy can combine symptom improvement with measurable modulation of synovitis, an inflammatory feature associated with disease progression. We believe these data will not only guide the next stage of clinical development but also contribute to the growing scientific momentum supporting inflammation as a therapeutic target for altering the course of osteoarthritis, rather than solely managing its symptoms. We look forward to sharing topline results before the end of the year.”

Patient follow-up is ongoing. Topline results are expected by the end of December 2026. The results are expected to inform the design of the subsequent Phase 2b clinical trial, which will further evaluate both clinical benefit and the disease-modifying potential of 4P004 in patients with the synovitis-associated inflammatory phenotype, and contribute to future regulatory interactions supporting the path forward of 4P004 toward market approval.

About 4MB
Incorporated in mid-2020 as a spin-off of 4P-Pharma, 4MB is a clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to the development of the Disease-Modifying Osteoarthritis Drug (DMOAD). Its mission is to provide a sustainable therapeutic solution to the significant unmet medical need in osteoarthritis. The company is headquartered at the Pasteur Institute in Lille, France.
Website:https://www.4movingbiotech.com/
LinkedIn: https://fr.linkedin.com/company/4moving-biotech

The only version of the 4Moving Biotech press release that is legally binding is the one in its original language. Translations must always be compared to the source text, which will establish precedence. The press release text resulting from a translation should not be considered official in any way.

4Moving Biotech completes enrollment in Phase 2a INFLAM MOTION study evaluating first-in-class intra-articular GLP-1 therapy targeting synovitis as a driver of pain and disease progression in knee osteoarthritis