The leader of the Spanish territory of Ceuta has told the European Parliament that up to five thousand migrants remain in the enclave after an estimated eighty thousand people crossed from Morocco in a mass border surge late last month.
Ceuta's Mayor-President Juan Jesús Vivas told an extraordinary session of the parliament's civil liberties committee on Thursday that around a hundred people died during the influx, while two invited Spanish government ministers failed to attend the hearing.
The European Commission has said it stands in full solidarity with Spain, with twenty-two member states signing a joint letter calling for stronger external borders.
William Denselow reports from Brussels.
IN: “In this extraordinary...”
OUT: “...return to normal.”
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William Denselow in Brussels says the European Commission is proposing a series of measures including better early warning systems, closer cooperation with non-EU countries, and a crackdown on smuggling networks.
IN: “What Brunner is...”
OUT: “...policy of returns.”
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