There were chaotic scenes on Thursday in Ceuta as border controls in the North African enclave apparently broke down.
On Saturday morning, Spanish MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar told the BBC that the situation was “beginning to get under control” and the migrants were “returning peacefully”.
But while the situation on the ground is easing, political and diplomatic fallout is rippling through Madrid and other capitals.
On Thursday, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on social media that such “uncontrolled immigration” was a threat to national security, before suspending the Schengen zone agreement with Spain for a month.
The Schengen Area is a system of open borders spanning 29 European countries that have abolished controls at their common borders.
Spain responded by summoning the Italian ambassador to Madrid, while its foreign minister said he expected “European solidarity and not partisan demagoguery”.
Finland’s Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said she had started preparations for restoring internal border checks “if the need arises”. She also urged “all European countries” to support Meloni’s move.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also urged the EU to “consider all options, including a suspension of Schengen co-operation”.
France has tightened checks on its border with Spain and said it would increase its police presence by Saturday.
Portuguese PM Luis Montenegro said he was considering reinforcing border checks.
Von der Leyen said the images from Ceuta were “unacceptable”. “We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules,” she said on social media.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he “supports Spain’s intention not to allow illegal migrants onto the European continent”, and demanded that Morocco “take back illegal migrants immediately”.
In the US, the state department said the incident was a direct result of Spain’s migration policies. President Donald Trump called the situation a “catastrophe” and said “it looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people”.
