Ceuta Migrant Crisis: Interior Ministers from 27 EU Countries to Hold Emergency Meeting on Tuesday

European Union interior ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the severe migrant crisis in the Spanish city of Ceuta.

The meeting was called amid divisions among EU member states triggered by the arrival of around 60,000 migrants from Morocco into Spanish territory.

Led by Italy, several EU countries called for the Schengen Agreement with Spain to be suspended, while the Italian authorities moved to implement the measure. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez requested the emergency meeting of ministers after accusing the union of taking an unfair stance toward the migrant crisis engulfing his country.

The decision to hold the ministerial summit on Tuesday was approved unanimously. EU leaders aim to overcome divisions within the bloc and establish a common position on migration. Responding to Sanchez’s concerns, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the union had offered assistance from the very outset.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on Saturday that he had spoken with Sanchez to offer his support. During the dangerous crossing to the Spanish enclave, 86 migrants lost their lives, while approximately 50,000 others were turned back by Spanish security forces. The forces were immediately deployed to the border and managed to bring the situation under control.