The European Union could take up to 28 days to formally respond to Spain’s appeal for help in tackling the chaotic scenes in Ceuta, GB News can reveal.
Almost 60,000 illegal migrants flooded into Spain’s African enclave yesterday, with France and Italy putting pressure on the Brussels bloc to impose stricter migration checks.
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However, changes to EU regulations which came into force at the start of this month mean it could take until almost September before Brussels takes action.
Any of the EU’s 27 member states can request assistance in dealing with migration by submitting a formal request to the European Commission.
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The European Commission, which is currently headed up by Ursula von der Leyen, has up to two weeks to rule on whether the situation meets its legal definition of a “crisis”.
A further delay is likely if the unelected executive decides a bloc-wide response is required.
The Council, which includes the leaders of all 27 member states, is given another two weeks to approve measures set out by the European Commission, including relocating asylum seekers to other countries, financial support, extra personnel, and temporary changes to asylum procedures.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told GB News: “This shows that weak borders and giving status to people who enter a country illegally is a terrible idea – and just encourages more to come.
“That is what socialists in Spain have done. Brussels and the EU have also not fixed Europe’s migrant crisis – by being so slow and so weak, they have made it worse.”
Brussels was left at loggerheads over migration when a similar crisis engulfed the continent in 2015.
Germany, Sweden, Italy and Greece all pushed for asylum seekers to be shared more evenly across the EU.
Meanwhile, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia strongly opposed mandatory relocation quotas.
Friction within the EU meant it took more than four months for the bloc to sign off on measures to tackle the migrant crisis.
However, ex-Immigration Minister Kevin Foster is now putting pressure on Brussels to take further action after stressing the EU has “no silver bullet” to tackle illegal crossings.
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He told GB News: “The scenes from Ceuta are a reminder of what happens when hard-left rhetoric meets the reality of managing a border.
“Being part of Schengen means you give up control of your frontier not just to the EU, but to any country in the bloc that wants to pursue the ill-thought-out mess we are now seeing in Spain.
“Brussels has in recent years moved to be firmer with the shared border, but these disgraceful scenes show what can happen and how those arguing that being in the EU is a magic bullet to these issues are seriously misguided.
“Italy is right to call Spain out, but the EU now needs to act quickly and deploy Frontex to end this mess.”
After footage showed thousands of migrants storming Ceuta, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez deployed the Civil Guard and described the crossing as “a violation of the nation’s territorial integrity”.
Spain and Morocco have also already agreed to return all 60,000 migrants who entered the enclave of Ceuta.
But Madrid is yet to formally submit an application for “crisis” assistance from the European Union.
Meanwhile, Ms Von der Leyen said: “The images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable.
“We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules.
“Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled.
“And returns must be swift, as our rules allow. I tasked two Commissioners to support to control the situation.
“Magnus Brunner is already working closely with Spain and is ready to travel to critical points. He will work on additional operational support to Spain, including through Frontex.”
Despite Ms Von der Leyen’s remarks, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni opened the door to suspending free movement with Italy.
She said: “We are prepared to take action — including through extraordinary measures — to defend our borders and ensure citizens’ safety.”
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced Friday that he had ordered increased controls at the border with Spain.
GB News has approached the European Commission for comment.
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