The European Union (EU) held an informal videoconference on Tuesday to discuss the illegal migrant influx into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa.
During the meeting, the bloc outlined plans to further strengthen its external border controls, accelerate the repatriation of undocumented migrants, and provide additional support to Spain.
Ceuta, located on the Mediterranean coast of northwestern Africa near the Strait of Gibraltar, borders Morocco. The recent surge of illegal crossings from the Moroccan side has triggered the most severe border migration crisis Spain has faced in recent years.
EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said the migrant crisis in Ceuta this time was fueled by criminal smuggling networks and false information circulating on social media.
Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Tuesday that around 70,000 of the roughly 72,000 migrants who entered Ceuta irregularly have already returned to Morocco and that the situation at the enclave's border is now broadly under control.
The country's government delegation in Ceuta also confirmed on the same day that the mass crossing has caused at least 75 deaths.
Spain's central government estimates that about 2,500 migrants remain in Ceuta, while the local government puts the figure at between 3,000 and 5,000. According to the local authorities, at least 1,000 of those remaining are minors.
EU moves to tighten border controls after Ceuta migration crisis
