Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has criticised what he called a lack of rules governing migration flows in the wake of the mass crossing into Ceuta, saying some governments pursued policies that acted as a pull factor.
He spoke on August 4 at the opening of Portugal’s first privately run family health unit, in São Pedro da Cadeira, in the municipality of Torres Vedras north of Lisbon. He did not name Spain.
“Some insist on adopting policies that often have a pull effect,” Montenegro said, according to the Lusa news agency. Such governments called people over without providing the conditions to receive and integrate them, he added.
Portugal was doing what had to be done, the Prime Minister said, listing work, housing and access to health, education and mobility as the conditions for newcomers to live with dignity.
The remarks carried added weight because Portugal was one of the few governments that declined to sign a letter from 22 European Union leaders challenging Spanish migration policy. The signatories tied the crossings to Madrid’s regularisation drive and to a Supreme Court ruling of July 8 barring summary returns at sea.
France also stayed out of the letter. Lisbon had already rejected Italian and Danish suggestions that Schengen cooperation with Spain be suspended.
Spain’s Interior Ministry estimated that about 72,000 people entered Ceuta irregularly from Morocco in the 24 hours from July 30, most of them swimming, and that roughly 70,000 had since been returned. The Government Delegation in the enclave put the confirmed death toll at 75 on the Spanish side, with 11 more recorded in Moroccan territory.
Hours before Montenegro spoke, interior ministers from the EU and the Schengen associated countries agreed to reinforce the bloc’s external borders, speed up returns and build early-warning systems. The videoconference was chaired by Ireland, which holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Portugal was represented by home affairs minister Luís Neves, who told the meeting the episode marked a break in the recent downward trend in irregular entries into Europe.
In a statement, his ministry said national immigration policies produced effects beyond each member state’s borders and that unilateral measures could generate expectations and pull factors. Neves said the integrity of the Schengen area had never been in question, citing Ceuta’s geographical position and its special status, which requires separate checks on travel to mainland Europe.
European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner ruled out any direct link between the Spanish regularisation scheme and the events in the enclave, telling reporters the answer was definitely no.
