Madrid responds to calls to exclude Spain from Schengen after events in Ceuta
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has condemned the reaction of a number of European countries to the migration crisis in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, calling their position "selfish, polarizing and unjustified."
In a letter to the leadership of the European Union, Sánchez called for an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers to be convened. According to him, while most countries supported Madrid, individual states began to criticize Spain and even called for its temporary exclusion from the Schengen area. Sánchez emphasized that Ceuta is not part of the Schengen area, so such demands have no legal force.
He also noted that the Spanish authorities promptly restored control at the border, provided humanitarian aid and returned nearly all of the migrants who had entered illegally back to Morocco, preventing their advance deeper into Europe.
