On August 4, 2026, European Union ministers held an emergency video call to deal with a crisis: in just two days, more than 60,000 people had crossed into Ceuta, a small Spanish city on the coast of North Africa. Ceuta belongs to Spain but sits right next to Morocco, which means people can reach it by land or sea without entering the rest of Europe. The crossings caused a humanitarian emergency. Spain sent in extra soldiers and police. More than 80 migrants died, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities. Some drowned or were crushed while trying to climb over a breakwater — a wall built in the sea to block waves. Al Jazeera

By Saturday, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said "almost all" of those who entered Ceuta had left and things had mostly returned to normal. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta on July 31 and said "all resources of the State" would be used to keep the city safe. He called the crossing a "violation and attack" on Ceuta. La Moncloa

The emergency meeting was organized by Ireland, which held the rotating leadership of EU Council meetings at the time. It happened after 22 of the EU's 27 member countries asked for joint action and stronger border controls. Those same 22 leaders signed a letter criticizing Sánchez's migration policy during the crisis. Politico Council of the EU

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was one of the loudest critics. She said Italy would temporarily check people traveling by air and sea from Spain and questioned how Madrid handled the situation. Sánchez fired back, saying Italy's move broke European law and went against the principle of solidarity — the idea that EU countries should help each other handle shared problems. He also pointed out that Italy had taken in far more migrants than Spain since 2021: about 478,000 arrivals for Italy versus 234,000 for Spain. Al Jazeera

Sánchez went further, calling the response of several EU countries "selfish" and driven by "prejudice, ignorance and fake news." Spain described the reaction from some neighboring countries as "selfish, polarising and unlawful." CNN BBC The Guardian

The Spanish government said it did not mishandle the crisis. It argued that the situation was brought under control quickly thanks to close coordination with Morocco, even though other European countries offered little help. A senior Moroccan official, speaking anonymously to AFP, said Morocco had raised concerns with Spain about the events in Ceuta. Al Jazeera

Spanish officials gave a specific reason for the sudden surge. Spain's Supreme Court had recently ruled that migrants arriving by sea cannot be sent back immediately without giving them a chance to make their case — a legal protection known as due process. Smuggling networks, Spanish officials said, twisted that ruling to convince people that Spain had opened its borders, encouraging them to try the crossing. Human rights groups and activists, meanwhile, accused far-right politicians of using the crisis to push anti-immigration messages. Al Jazeera

The broader context here is about a surprising trend: fewer people have been crossing into Europe without authorization, not more. Frontex, the EU's border agency, reported that irregular crossings peaked at 1.8 million in 2015. In the first half of 2026, crossings dropped 37 percent compared to the same period in 2025, to about 49,000. A Council of the EU infographic recorded 24,839 irregular arrivals so far in 2026 — 8,489 on the Central Mediterranean route and 8,427 on the Eastern route. Spain's Interior Ministry data, which tracks the "Western Mediterranean route" covering Spain including Ceuta and Melilla, showed only 858 irregular sea arrivals to Ceuta from January 1 to June 15, 2026, down from 1,728 in the same period of 2025. Al Jazeera Spanish Interior Ministry

Spain had already been working on longer-term migration policies before the crisis hit. By March 19, 2026, Ceuta had relocated 437 of 571 migrant children who arrived alone, meeting 76.5 percent of its goal under a relocation system that spreads responsibility for unaccompanied minors across Spain's regions. The government had also approved a special program to give legal status to undocumented migrants, with online applications opening April 16, 2026, and in-person appointments starting April 20. La Moncloa La Moncloa

Looking ahead, several things will shape what happens next. The letter from 22 EU countries and Italy's decision to act on its own show that the EU is still deeply split between those who want stronger borders and those who want shared responsibility. The EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum, a set of rules meant to settle this divide, has not stopped the political tension when a border country faces a sudden wave of arrivals. Sánchez's focus on comparing arrival numbers and calling Italy's response illegal suggests Spain will defend itself through legal and diplomatic channels rather than backing down. The Supreme Court ruling on due process also creates a real tension: courts say people cannot be sent back without a hearing, but politicians and the public expect fast action to stop crossings — and smuggling groups have shown they can take advantage of that gap. Morocco's role remains the biggest question mark. When Morocco tightens enforcement at the Ceuta border, crossings tend to drop. When it eases up, they surge. Rabat chose to raise concerns privately with Spain rather than take a public side, which leaves everyone guessing about what it will do next.