EU COMMISSION DECLINES SPAIN’S AID REQUEST -For Ceuta support against illegal migrants
The European Commission has reportedly declined Spain’s request for assistance in Ceuta, as it said it is not ready to approve Spain’s request for emergency support in dealing with the Ceuta migration crisis, claiming that ‘ further information is needed before a decision can be made’.
Commission spokesman Markus Lammert said at the daily press briefing that the requests were being evaluated and that the Spanish government still needs to provide further information regarding several questions.
Ceuta, which shares a land border with Morocco, is one of Spain’s two enclaves on the North African coast and forms part of the European Union’s external border.
Between late July and early August, a massive wave of undocumented migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta after misinformation about Spain’s migration policy spread widely, triggering one of Spain’s most severe border crises in recent years.
Around 80,000 undocumented migrants are estimated to have entered Ceuta from Morocco during the crisis, with about 5,000 still stranded in the city as of the latest reports.
The Spanish government formally requested emergency support from the European Union on August 28 to manage the situation, including staffing from Frontex and remote assistance from the European Union Agency for Asylum.
