Spain says 70,000 out of 72,000 migrants that entered Ceuta in mass border crossing have returned to Morocco – as it happened

He says all countries were “constructive” and acknowledged Spain’s immediate response. He tells reporters that 70,000 of the estimated 72,000 that crossed in Cueta have now returned to Morocco. Spain is “in the process of resolving” the status of the remaining individuals, and those who do not have the right to remain in the country will be returned to Morocco, he says. But he goes out of his way to make it very clear that the EU’s Schengen area “was in no way compromised” , with “no secondary movement, nor even the possibility of any.” As we explained on Europe Live on Friday, Ceuta has a special status under the Schengen rules, meaning that all entries and exits to mainland Spain or the EU still require full border and document checks. He says today’s meeting was “satisfactory” in recognising Spain’s work on irregular migration. Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that 70,000 of the estimated 72,000 migrants who crossed into the north African enclave of Ceuta last week have moved back to Morocco, as the EU ministers met to study the crisis and draw lessons for its border management (, ). Grande-Marlaska insisted that the EU’s free-travel Schengen area “was in no way compromised,” as Ceuta is not part of the arrangement that sees travellers cross without border checks. At least 75 people died during the attempted crossing, EU ministers were told (), with Spain rejecting suggestions that it had any advance knowledge of the surge (, ). In sharp contrast to much more critical statements last week, ministers publicly praised Spain’s “swift” response to the crisis (, , , ), as they met virtually to discuss potential measures to strengthen the EU’s external borders. Spain and Italy remained at loggerheads over Rome’s decision to temporarily reintroduce border controls, with EU distancing itself from the dispute (). But a senior EU official criticised Spain’s policy to regularise the status of undocumented migrants (), saying it sent “not a good signal” on Europe’s immigration policies. In other news, Hungary has come “within millimetres” of having to shut down its nuclear power plant overnight, as extremely low water levels on the Danube complicate energy generation in parts of south-eastern Europe (, , , ). A 4.3 magnitude earthquake was reported west of the Italian city of Pisa, with no significant damage or injuries reported so far (). Austria has reported an all-time high temperature of 41C in Vienna-Stammerstorf () as large parts of central and eastern Europe face another wave of extreme temperatures, with the Czech Republic and Slovakia reporting all-time high night-time temperatures ().