After the massive and illegal arrival of migrants from Morocco at the end of July, the European Union today granted Spain emergency aid of around 115 million euros for managing the crisis in the Ceuta enclave.
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The European Commission announced that the funds will be used mainly to strengthen border control, including the purchase of equipment such as thermal cameras and the deployment of additional personnel.
The package, worth exactly 114.7 million euros, will also help with the return of people who are illegally in Ceuta and with expanding reception capacities for unaccompanied minors in the Spanish enclave, according to Brussels.
On July 30 and 31, over 70,000 migrants forced their way into Ceuta, which is one of only two land borders connecting Europe with Africa. This influx caused dozens of casualties and missing persons.
Most of the migrants left immediately, but thousands of them were still in the enclave today. The government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez estimates this number at 5,000 people, while local authorities in Ceuta speak of at least 10,000. Many of them were staying on streets and beaches.
On Tuesday, the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, asked the European Union to intervene with aid to cope with the situation.
Vivas, who is part of the right-wing People’s Party, accused Morocco of having caused the massive influx ‘in fact or by inaction’.
On the other hand, socialist Pedro Sanchez stated that no agency had ‘provided the Spanish government with strong evidence that Morocco planned or orchestrated’ this wave of migrants.
Suspicions about Morocco’s involvement grew last week, when a police report was published that highlighted the ‘tolerance’ of Moroccan security forces during the crisis.
On Monday, the Spanish judiciary launched an investigation into the events, relying mainly on this police report.
