European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed an emergency framework that would allow the European Union to suspend its standard return procedures for a limited time when a member state faces a sudden mass arrival of irregular migrants.
She set out the plan in her State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on September 16. It came 48 days after the crossings into Ceuta on July 30 and 31.
Von der Leyen said the EU’s tools had to evolve for emergencies and that Europe needed the means to protect its borders at all times. She pointed to cases in which mass movements of people were engineered and used as a weapon.
Addressing the residents of the Spanish city directly, she said its border was a European border. “Ceuta is Spain. Ceuta is Europe. And Europe will be there for you,” she said.
Almost seven weeks on, the Commission President still gave no detail of what the new European Emergency Response Framework would contain and no date for a legislative proposal. She said it would offer time-limited, clearly delimited flexibility from ordinary procedures and would be triggered only under strictly defined criteria.
More than 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta over those two days, the largest influx recorded at the EU’s only land border with Africa. Most were sent back within days, though between 5,000 and 10,000 are still thought to be in the city.
Von der Leyen had demanded an immediate halt to the crossings on July 31, calling the images unacceptable and insisting returns be swift.
She told MEPs that the situation in the autonomous city required a European solution and that this meant applying the Pact on Migration and Asylum properly. Member states should already have written it into national law in full, she said, and it demanded solidarity from all of them.
Europe would always respect its values and fundamental rights but would never give up protecting its borders, she said. Europeans decided who entered the Union and on what terms, not smugglers.
Von der Leyen also called for a further strengthening of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, to carry out returns faster. Early warning systems would be improved, she said, including through cooperation with countries outside the bloc, to help anticipate large movements.
She made no explicit mention of Morocco, arguing instead for working with neighbours to drive investment and offer young people real prospects so they were not forced to risk their lives.
She announced an initiative on skills and jobs for young people in the Mediterranean, aimed at cutting irregular flows and widening legal routes. Again, no measures or timetable were set out.
