Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has denied accusations that his government ignored warnings that a large-scale border crossing from Morocco to the enclave of Ceuta was imminent.
Mr Sanchez is under intense pressure over the crisis, which has seen an estimated 72,000 people cross the border. Dozens of people died, many remaining in the city.
Sánchez said in a speech to parliament on Thursday that there were no “alerts or special notices” between July 30 and 31.
“We have investigated all messages, statements and verbal reports from national security agencies,” he said.
“What I can say is that none of them did much more than explain the data and report on a routine basis, and none of them predicted the probability or magnitude of what would ultimately happen.”
Mr Sanchez defended the government’s handling of the crisis and promised to release a set of official reports showing all the information available to the government.
“The government has nothing to hide on this matter,” he said.
Most of the migrants have since crossed the border back to Morocco, but the incident has become a major political issue for Sánchez and his government, both domestically and internationally. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Ceuta and other cities across Spain to protest against the government.
Relations with Morocco have been strained following reports that the Moroccan government facilitated mass border crossings, but Sanchez quelled speculation.
“Many people believe that the Moroccan authorities caused this crisis,” he says.
“So far, no one has provided the government with conclusive evidence that would allow us to conclude that this large-scale border crossing was planned or carried out by the Moroccan authorities,” he said, adding that an investigation is underway into whether they actually played any role in the incident.
Sanchez added that the two countries will continue to cooperate on border issues, but “after this incident it is clear that this cooperation must be different.”
The incident has also sparked a diplomatic row within the European Union, with anti-immigration leaders including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni calling for Spain’s membership in the Schengen visa-free travel area to be suspended. Italy has also temporarily tightened travel restrictions from the country.
The spat became so hostile that Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez summoned the Italian ambassador on July 31 to discuss comments by Italy’s ambassador, Antonio Tajani, who claimed without evidence that Madrid’s immigration policy “encourages human trafficking.”
At the time, Sanchez pointed out that Ceuta is not part of the Schengen area, singled out Italy as a country that hosts more illegal immigrants than Spain, and accused other European countries of giving Madrid “little support.”
Mr Sánchez said on Thursday he would seek help from EU institutions such as Frontex, the regional border and coast guard agency, in securing the borders of both Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish enclave on the North African coast. Both are claimed by Morocco.
“We will request that a permanent presence of Frontex be established,” he said, adding that he would also request a special mission from Europol to monitor irregular migration to Ceuta.
Sánchez said the Spanish government will also ask the EU to recognize Ceuta and Melilla as the EU’s outermost regions, a special designation that allows regions outside mainland Europe to join the EU’s customs union.
An estimated 10,000 migrants remain in Ceuta, which has a permanent population of about 80,000, causing social tensions in the enclave and becoming a hot topic for Spain’s far-right rebels.
However, Sanchez acknowledged that it is impossible to completely prevent border crossings.
“We are not going to guarantee that these borders will be 100% secure, because behind the borders there is inequality and the search for opportunity, and this will always be the case no matter how high that border (wall) is,” he said.
