The Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, indicated that the migratory crisis in Ceuta is an attack by Morocco against the external border of the European Union. An organized, premeditated, and hybrid attack whose consequences go beyond the bilateral framework of relations with Spain, which required a strong reaction from Europe.
“I believe I was the first to make it clear that this was an attack on the external border of the European Union,” Schinas recalled this week at a press conference with Spanish journalists in Strasbourg. For the vice-president of the European Commission, “the strong reaction of the EU has helped to calm the ardor of Morocco” and to quickly end the migration crisis in Ceuta, reports ABC.
But the episode was not easy for Brussels, says Schinas. “They were very difficult days, in the sense that it happened very suddenly. There were no previous signs or movements, which shows that it was entirely designed to be a frontal attack,” he explains, avoiding commenting on the reasons which pushed Rabat to let pass hundreds of migrants in Ceuta. This question has always been secondary for Brussels because nothing justifies an attack of this magnitude, he says. “What we have seen is an attack on the external border of the European Union. An organized, premeditated, and hybrid attack,” added Schinas.
“Morocco, like all our neighbors, must realize that no one can blackmail Europe, that migration is part of diplomatic relations. Better still, Rabat is one of the major beneficiaries of European aid,” Schinas further underlined. At the beginning of June, the European Chamber held Morocco responsible for the Ceuta crisis and condemned Rabat for having instrumentalized migrants, most of them minors, “for political ends”. The resolution was adopted by a large majority of 397 votes in favor, 85 against, and 196 abstentions. “The political message was clear. Morocco had everything to gain from working with Europe rather than against Europe,” added Schinas.
