Paris, Aug 4 (EFE).- French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Tuesday that European Union member states had expressed support for Spain’s handling of the recent migration crisis in Ceuta during an informal meeting of EU interior ministers convened at Madrid’s request.
«All member states have shown solidarity with Spain. They praised the management of the Spanish government, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska,» Nuñez told a news conference after the meeting.
The French minister said there was broad agreement among participants, although he acknowledged differences in emphasis over migration policy.
According to Nuñez, ministers agreed that the Schengen area «is not the problem, it is part of the solution» and that no country questioned Spain’s continued participation in the passport-free travel zone.
“We told each other what we think,» he said.
“Some countries warned about measures that could attract migrants, while others, including Spain and states that expressed solidarity with it, argued that division has no place,” he added, referring to a letter signed by 22 member states.
Nuñez noted that none of the migrants who entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on July 30 had reached mainland Europe.
He defended France’s decision to reinforce its border with Spain as a measure to prevent «secondary movements» by migrants who could later travel through France toward the United Kingdom.
In addition to the 334 officers already deployed along the Spanish border, France will send another 186 starting Wednesday, Nuñez said.
He added that border controls would also be strengthened along the frontier with Italy.
The minister also said there was broad agreement on the need to maintain , and where necessary strengthen, border controls.
He recalled that French President Emmanuel Macron had offered France’s support to Sánchez during a telephone conversation last Friday.
Nuñez also criticized what he described as attempts by other countries to use images from the Ceuta crisis to attack the European Union’s migration policy and sow divisions among member states. EFE
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