About this Episode
What really happened in Ceuta? In this episode of Brussels Signal’s Hammer Time, we examine the extraordinary events surrounding the mass arrival of tens of thousands of people in Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta, the conflicting reports over how many remained, and what the episode reveals about Europe’s migration policy.
The discussion looks at:
- The rapidly changing estimates of how many people entered Ceuta
- Why the scale of the arrivals is difficult to put into perspective
- Morocco’s potential use of migration as a geopolitical tool
- Spain’s relationship with Morocco and Algeria * Pedro Sánchez’s migration and legalization policies
- The European Union’s response and financial support for Morocco
- The possibility of migration being used as a form of hybrid pressure
- Questions surrounding the media’s coverage of the events
- What the Ceuta episode could mean for Europe’s wider migration debate
The video also examines competing explanations for what happened, while distinguishing between established facts, plausible theories and speculation.
Watch until the end for the bigger question: what does the Ceuta crisis tell us about the future of Europe’s borders and migration policy?